Sainsbury's has announced a further £2.8m support payment to its pork development group as its suppliers continue to battle a volatile market.
The farmer group was created by the retailer so it can understand its farm base more, and to increase visibility across the supplier chain.
As part of it, a pricing mechanism was created that has paid above market price for fresh pork since September 2020. Producers access this fixed price for 12 weeks.
Sainsbury's says the model was created to help provide resilience and security by reducing market volatility, influencing the Standard Pig Price and benefitting the wider pork sector.
Through this pricing structure, the retailer has now announced an additional short-term support through a £2.8m investment for its pork producers.
Sainsbury's says this will give them the opportunity to align all pigs supplied to the retailer, not currently part of the model, to a fixed price for the 12-week period from 13 March 2022 to 5 June 2022.
Gavin Hodgson, Sainsbury’s Head of Agriculture, said the UK pork sector had seen unprecedented cost challenges.
"We hope that our further investment will provide our producers with security whilst maintaining high levels of animal health and welfare as well as product quality and great value for our customers.”
Sainsbury's says it will continue to review its pricing model to ensure the longer-term safeguarding of supply, and work in collaboration with farmers to deliver a supply chain that is 'resilient, efficient, and engaged'.
