Give us a fair price or we’ll hit your depots Welsh lamb farmers issue ‘final ultimatum’ to Tesco
TV farmer Gareth Wyn Jones poses with a Welsh Lamb billboard that has been travelling the country in support of Hybu Cig Cymru’s new TV lamb advertising campaign
NORTH Wales farmers were last Wednesday night locked in crunch talks with Tesco bosses in a last-ditch to stave off further protests over low lamb prices.
Leaders of this summer’s lamb protests have warned the retail giant that farmers will go back out on the streets if it fails to deliver meaningful pledges to the sheep sector.
Michael Jones, the young farmer from Bangor who has become the movement’s figurehead, was joined at last Wednesday’s meeting by NFU officials and Farmers For Action leaders.
He said: “The protests are not over and they won’t be until we get something from the retailers.
“It’s gone quiet over the past month but that’s only because we have been in talks with the supermarkets. And while that is a positive thing, make no mistake, if we end up back at square one, farmers will be back out protesting.
“We need money coming into the industry if we are to make it through the winter, and to invest in the future. If we don’t get it, we will be back out. We will not quit. This will not blow over. We only need 10 farmers to shut down a depot.”
Tesco was brought to the table after North Wales farmers blockaded the retailer’s distribution depot in Runcorn and stopped 141 lorries in a single night.
An initial meeting at Michael’s Llandegai farmhouse failed to satisfy the protesters, prompting Tesco to offer follow-up talks.
These were due to have taken place in London the week before last but Michael insisted on meeting half-way.
Last week’s get-together, at an undisclosed hotel in the Midlands, also included farmer Elwyn Evans,
■ NFU Anglesey’s vice chairman.
They were demanding the scaling back of New Zealand lamb on Tesco’s shelves, along with a commitment to cost-of-production pricing.
Michael said: “I’m just an average farming who just wants to make an average living.
“We are not asking for the earth. We know Tesco are not going to come out an offer us a guaranteed £70 per lamb, or £4 per kilo.
“All we want to do is to cover the cost of production so that we can make a living from our lambs, which is currently impossible.”
The North Wales protesters have also held talks with Hybu Cig Cymru, the red meat promotion body, to air concerns about a per- ceived lack of domestic lamb marketing.
They have made progress with the Co-op, which has said it may cancel its entire New Zealand lamb order for 2016.
Last week it pledged to extend its British lamb season next year, introduce local lamb ranges and stock three UK lamb lines year round.
The Co-op accounts for just 2% of the lamb market in the UK, but it is hoped other retailers will now follow suit.
NFU chief livestock adviser John Royle said a longer British season will help early lamb producers. “Farmers need to see commitment from the British retailer sector so they can invest in their businesses,” he said.