Spring Farming Special
NFU SCOTLAND’S latest Shelfwatch, taking in 35 stores nationwide, has found a huge variance in the support being shown by supermarkets to Scottish lamb.
With lambing time just around the corner, members and staff at NFUS have been visiting supermarkets across Scotland to identify the amount of Scottish lamb on shelves. More than two-thirds of the lamb offered on supermarket shelves was found to be Scottish or British, but NFUS believes that this is a figure that can be significantly improved by greater retailer support.
While Scottish lamb production traditionally falls toward the start of spring, Scottish farmers believe that there is still enough lamb to fill Scottish store shelves and meet the yearround demand from shoppers for local, tasty home-produced lamb.
While there is some welcome strengthening of support for the sector in some supermarket chains, the latest lamb watch reveals that some retailers are still stocking significant amounts of imported lamb.
The results reveal an honouring of the commitment made by Marks and Spencer to sell exclusively home-produced lamb in Scotland, achieved following NFUS lobbying. It is joined by Aldi and Lidl stores in having the highest proportion of British and Scottish lamb on shelves.
NFU Scotland members expressed concern that Morrisons, a longstanding supporter of Scottish and British farmers, had worrying volumes of imported lamb available and NFUS has contacted the retailer on the matter.
Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Co-op were found to have the largest percentage volumes of imported lamb.
The Co-op has previously pledged to NFU Scotland that, from May 2017, it will exclusively source home-produced lamb for its stores.
NFU Scotland will continue to press Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose for a strengthened commitment to homeproduced lamb.
Looking at the results, livestock committee chairman Charlie Adam said: ‘With lambing just around the corner, Scottish farmers, crofters and shoppers will be happy to hear that most stores visited had Scottish and British lamb in stock and I would encourage anyone to buy Scottish lamb and support local food production.
‘Some members taking part in this latest Shelfwatch were justifiably angry at the levels of imported lamb in certain stores. We have contacted those retailers, not just expressing our concerns, but to point out the great support that others are showing to Scottish sheep producers and their customers through their lamb sales.
‘It is positive to see the continued commitment to sourcing Scottish and British lamb from Marks and Spencer, Aldi and Lidl and this must be commended. Members found that the Co-op carried very little homeproduced lamb but it is important to note that it has committed to exclusively sourcing homeproduced lamb for its supply chain in from May onwards.
‘As well as working with supermarkets to increase the amount of our lamb on shop shelves, we also want to see what we can do collectively to increase lamb consumption in Scotland and we look forward to working with supermarkets to achieve this in the future, building on Scotch lamb promotions and the many lamb tastings that NFUS and others have held around the country in recent years.
‘Overall, our Shelfwatchers found 69 per cent of the lamb on shelves was produced in the UK and we want to see this proportion rise in future years. We continue to urge our members to keep an eye on shop shelves and let us know both good news and bad news on Scottish lamb being offered.’