Farming: Bouquets and brickbats for stores

Supermarkets are often on the receiving end of brickbats from farmers over their purchasing policies but this week, NFU Scotland praised a number of the major retailers for their support for the Scottish pig sector.

An examination of supermarket shelves saw strong support for fresh Scottish and British pork from Morrisons and Marks & Spencer.

And a meeting this week between the union and Sainsbury’s saw that retailer firm up on an earlier commitment that the fresh pork range in its Scottish stores would be 100 per cent Scottish across basics and ‘By Sainsbury’s’ ranges by October. While Scottish and British pork was available in Tesco, Asda and Aldi stores, the survey – carried out in Edinburgh and Borders stores – saw what the union described as “significant and disappointing volumes of fresh pork from France, Holland, Denmark and Ireland”.

The support for Scottish ham and bacon was poorer, with only Marks & Spencer offering exclusively UK produce while all others saw shelf space dominated by Dutch and Danish with limited British produce available, if at all.

The union’s Wendy Fleming said: “These are difficult and uncertain times for the Scottish pig sector but there are positives to be gleaned from the amount of Scottish or UK product found on some store shelves and the commitment from some to increase the volumes of Scottish pork.”

She added the key to improving the lot of the Scottish pig farmer was encouraging those stores that displayed significant volumes of fresh pork from outwith the UK to stock up with Scottish.

“We believe all retailers are under no illusions about the huge issues facing the Scottish pig industry and the boost that increased commitment may give.”

ANDREW ARBUCKLE