High amount of imported lamb ‘bittersweet’ news

Scotland’s farming union has hit out at retailers after investigations revealed 11% of lamb available in Scottish supermarkets is imported.

NFU Scotland said its secret shoppers had inspected a number of supermarket stores across Scotland to see where the fresh lamb on offer had come from.

It found that 11% of the lamb available was imported, with almost all of the foreign stock found in Asda and Tesco stores.

The union said this was in stark contrast to findings from a similar exercise carried out in August last year, when only 3% of lamb was imported.

It said its latest investigation had revealed that all lamb in the Aldi and Lidl stores visited was clearly identified as Scottish.

In Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op, it was either British or Scottish.

Of the eight Asda stores visited, 30% of the 656 packs of fresh lamb were from New Zealand and 3% was from Australia.

And of the seven Tesco stores visited, 21% of the 551 packs of fresh lamb was from New Zealand.

The union’s livestock committee chairman, Charlie Adam, said the high volumes of imported lamb found in Tesco and Asda were a “blow for Scottish sheep producers”.

“This is a bittersweet survey at a crunch time for Scottish sheep producers,” said Mr Adam, who farms at Breaside, near Alford.

“Next week sees 18,500 store lambs from hill farmers and crofters pass through the iconic sale rings at Lairg, providing a valuable barometer on the sheep sector’s fortunes.

“At the same time, sales of prime Scottish lambs are building towards a peak.”

Picture: Getty. The Lairg lamb sales, as farmers’ representatives hit out at the high amount of imported lamb in supermarkets.