The National Farmers Union (NFU) is calling on Morrisons to adhere to its 100% British lamb policy when sourcing all of its own products.
The retailer is running a promotion of Australian and New Zealand lamb legs branded as 'Market Deals' – owned by Morrisons.
The NFU says it’s concerned about consumer confusion over the product’s country of origin with Morrisons’ high profile commitment to shoppers to source 100% British lamb under the Morrisons own-label brand.
Morrisons has traditionally been a strong backer of the British livestock industry.
Much of the retailer's messaging to shoppers is centred around being 100% British on all fresh meat.
'Contrary to its commitments'
NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe said: “We appreciate that Morrisons purchases around 750,000 lambs every year, but in our view it’s a real shame that the retailer is now acting contrary to its commitments to consumers.
“We also have concerns that these imported products are being placed near British messaging at the point of sale, potentially leaving shoppers confused about the origin of the product they are purchasing. We want shoppers to be able to buy British food confidently.
“There is obviously a demand for British lamb so I would urge Morrisons to be clear to customers about what its commitments are.”
The UK is the world’s third largest lamb exporter – after Australia and New Zealand – with just over a third of the market.
According to retail analysts Mintec the peak for lamb consumption in the UK is typically in the month which Easter falls, with an average of almost 8,000 tonnes eaten.
