Mixed results for retailer support for British pork, survey says

The latest AHDB Porkwatch figures has shown very mixed results in terms of support for British pork products across the 10 retailers surveyed.

There was an increase in the proportion of British pork on display; up to 86% overall in March, from 84% in January and 81% a year ago.

The proportion of British ham on display on retailers' shelves was up to 67% in March, from 64% in both January and March 2022.

However, there were big declines in bacon, down from 61% to 55%, and sausage, from 89% to 76% in the March 2023 survey.

The National Pig Association (NPA) said it welcomed the continued support by most retailers for British pork products.

However, the body said it was unclear what lied behind the big drop offs in the British bacon and sausage figures within some retailers.

Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s all recorded 100% British pork, with Waitrose on 97%.

Asda and Tesco both upped their proportion of British to 66% and 77% respectively. However, Iceland was on just 5%.

For ham, Asda, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose all made improvements to 41%, 39%, 92% and 97% respectively.

However, others slipped back, including Co-op, which dropped from 100 to 96% and, most notably, Morrisons, from 60% to 44%.

Responding to the figures, NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: “Our understanding, at the moment, is that tight supplies and high prices in Europe mean imports are not as attractive as they have been.

"We believe that, generally, our retailers are continuing to stock healthy volumes of British products, despite the lower availability of British pigs seen throughout this year."

She added: “It might be, as AHDB suggests, that the changes are due to a shift in labelling policy in some retailers, to try to fulfil volumes by balancing supply.

"But that, in itself, is a concern as it is really important that country of origin is clearly demarked in our retailers in order to avoid confusion and to enable consumers to support our hard-working British pig producers.”