Retailers stocking more British beef but 'more needs to be done'

Latest figures released by EBLEX have revealed the average percentage of British beef and lamb on supermarket shelves has shown a 'marked improvement', according to the NFU.

In November, 83% on average of beef stocked in retailers' stores was British with lamb standing at 88%. Both of these figures are up on the previous month, with lamb at one of the highest levels seen in recent years.

Morrisons, through its commitment to British sourcing, had the highest levels of British beef and lamb facings in store.

Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are all continuing to choose British but Asda is still the worst performer of the major retailers.

NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond said: “It’s clear that retailers are now starting to recognise the importance of promoting farm assured Red Tractor British beef and lamb which we know more consumers want to buy.

“These latest figures show improvements across the board although some supermarkets are still doing better than others. I’m pleased to see Tesco improving its commitment to British lamb although it’s disappointing that the levels of British beef on the shelves have fallen in the past few months.

“While there have been improvements, it’s clear that more needs to be done and the NFU remains committed to working with all retailers to improve their commitment to sourcing British.”

NFU President Peter Kendall said: “Retailers are worrying about where they will get their food from, not in 20 years’ time, but in the next 10 years and we are finally starting to make them think they need to plan for both the long and short term”.

This was the message put to members of Monmouthshire NFU Cymru at their annual county conference held last week. Peter continued, “Retailers are taking an interest in where their food comes from, not just because the horsemeat surveys have shown that people want to buy British, but because the population of this Island is set to increase to 73million by 2050 and retailers will need to look closer to home in order to feed the increasing population.”