Supermarket keeps its promise to support British beef farmers
BEEF farmers have hailed Asda for fulfilling a commitment to supply 100% British beef on all of its fresh meat counters.
The National Beef Association (NBA) has congratulated the retailer on its decision to support homereared produce, some 18 months after it sparked a major backlash from the industry by choosing to stock imported Polish mince during the Covid-19 pandemic.
UK processor ABP Food Group supplied hundreds of tonnes of imported beef – approximately 20 containers worth – to both Asda and
Sainsbury’s in April 2020.
At the time, the NBA blasted the move as being “out of touch with current thinking”, at a time when the country was “pulling together in a flush of patriotic fervour”.
Writing this month to the joint owner of Asda, Mohsin Issa CBE, the NBA referred to an earlier letter sent to Asda in 2020 – prior to Mr Issa’s acquisition of the supermarket chain along with his brother Zuber and private equity partners TDR Capital
– in which the NBA questioned the decision to stock imported beef products from Poland during the pandemic.
Writing in the letter, Neil Shand, chief executive of the NBA, says: “At the start of the pandemic last year, ahead of your acquisition of Asda stores, we rather publicly challenged the decision to fill your shelves with Polish mince. Whilst we understood the pressure to stock your shelves, this happened at a time when the farmgate price in the UK was at rock bottom and, in many cases, below the cost of production.”
Mr Shand goes on to add: “Moving forward, it is therefore fitting to acknowledge your show of support for British beef producers, and for honouring the commitment you made back in September 2020 to stock 100% UK / British beef by the beginning of October 2021.”
He praised the “patriotic support” and welcomed the stability this move provides to the industry, from one of the biggest retailers in the UK.
On behalf of the NBA and its membership, Mr Shand offered his thanks for Asda’s commitment to the UK beef industry.