Aldi tops NFUS list of stores stocking most Scots produce
Aldi has been revealed as the top supermarket in Scotland when it comes to stocking the most Scottish produce, according to new research.
The German retailer has the largest proportion of its overall products from Scotland (48.7 per cent) in its stores north of the border. The results come from the first part of a four-stage survey by the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS), which is looking at food on sale in supermarkets in Scotland.
A total of 71 t es co, asda,m orris ons,sa ins bury’ s, co-op, marks and spencer, lid land al dis tor es were surveyed in January for the beef, lamb, pork, chicken, soft fruit, vegetables and dairy products on their shelves.
Researchers reviewed the country of origin of products being offered by the stores’ own brands to identify if they were Scottish, British or imported. Soft fruit was not included in this first round because it is 100 per cent imported during January due to seasonality.
Sainsbury’s had the lowest percentage of scottish produce, with just 7.6 per cent of Scottish products on its shelves north of the border.
Tesco and Asda were second and third lowest with under 10 per cent of Scottish products in their stores overall – 8.1 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively. For meat products, the survey showed retailers showing good support for British and Scotland-specific farmers.
The NFUS pointed out that, while some products say “from UK”, this could include Scottish farmers which shows support for Scotland-specific farmers may be stronger than what is reported. Aldi had the largest percentage of pork, bacon and sausages labelled as Scottish, and it proved to be the only retailer to stock fresh Scottish pork (100 per cent). Six retailers had no Scottish pork, with most of it being Uk-wide.
Meanwhile Asda imported 33 per cent of its fresh pork, and t es co 17.3 percent. for beef, another German-owned chain, Lidl, came out on top with its stores in Scotland stocking 88.6 per cent Scottish beef. Aldi was close behind with 86.6 per cent and Morrisons 73.2 per cent.
Asda had the lowest levels of Scottish beef (19 per cent), while Sainsbury’s had 19.8 per cent, and also imported more than 10 per cent of its beef from Ireland. Lidl had the largest percentage (100 per cent) of Scottish lamb products followed by M&S (83.6 per cent).
Aldi was top for poultry, with the largest percentage of Scottish chicken (86.7 per cent). Tesco and Sainsburys had no Scottish-labelled chicken, while Asda had just 1.4 per cent in its poultry section.
Aldi stores in Scotland are also the best place to buy Scottish eggs, with 100 per cent of the boxes coming from Scotland. But four retailers – Asda, Co-op, M&S and Sainsbury’s – had no Scottish-labelled eggs.
NFUS chief executive John Davidson said: “The results unveil a completely mixed bag of what is going on in shops across the country and available to Scotland’s consumers.
“While it is encouraging to see that there is strong support for Scottish and UK produce in general and examples of some retailers stocking 100 per cent Scottish, others appear to have absolutely none on their shelves in some sectors.”