Tesco, Aldi and Lidl top chart stocking nearly 100 per cent Scotch beef

helf watch results demonstrated a 74 per cent commitment to beef produced in the Scotland
helf watch results demonstrated a 74 per cent commitment to beef produced in the Scotland

A clear drive by retailers to support Scottish farmers, crofters and the country’s beef industry was evident during the latest shelf watch carried out by NFU Scotland.

The shelf watch survey, carried out from 3 to 7 October, found that out of the 14 stores surveyed, 74 per cent of the beef stocked was Scotch Beef.

Whilst there was overall strong support, this did vary by the nine retailers, with secret shoppers in one Waitrose store finding no Scotch Beef products, while others found 100 per cent Scotch Beef.

Overall 2,871 packs of fresh beef were counted, in stores
Overall 2,871 packs of fresh beef were counted, in stores

Although this is just a snapshot of the overall picture, these results demonstrate a 'clear drive' from a number of retailers to support Scottish farmers and the Scottish beef industry, NFU Scotland said.

Overall, 14 supermarket stores were visited from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, and more than 2,800 packs of beef were counted.

Tesco, Aldi and Lidl topped the chart with all three supermarkets stocking near 100 per cent Scotch Beef across all of their stores.

'Mixed bag'

NFU Scotland Livestock Committee Chairman, Charlie Adam, said the results demonstrate that support for Scotch Beef from Scottish retailers is a "mixed bag".

"Credit must go to Tesco, Aldi and Lidl for their support for Scottish provenance for beef," Mr Adam said.

"Scotch Beef rightly has a strong international reputation and it is clear that shoppers want to be able to eat Scotch Beef in Scotland.

"With Brexit negotiations on the horizon we need strong support for Scottish food and farming from Scottish retailers and we hope the sourcing of Scottish beef can be improved in the future.

"Price deflation for meat continues to impact the industry and this is an ongoing concern for Scotland’s farmers and crofters, but it is positive to see strong demand for Scotch Beef by some large retailers.

"While 97 per cent of the beef counted was either Scottish or British there was also an amount of imported beef.

"With uncertainty over the future trading relationship of the United Kingdom with the rest of the world we would like to see all retailers decrease their reliance on imported meat," Mr Adam concluded.