The Scottish Farmer

McCain ups farmers contracts by 31%

- By Kelly Henaughen

POTATO growers selling under contract to one of the UK’s largest processors, McCain, are to get a 31% contract indexation increase from January 31

Worth £35m, this aims to help McCain’s 250 potato growers manage what has become an increasing­ly challengin­g environmen­t they operate in. This is further to last year’s contract price increase of 15% and a supplement­ary £5m energy support package, totalling a £50m investment in two years.

In 2007, McCain launched its ‘indexation model’ to measure changes in the cost of production to ensure it paid a fair contract price to growers and this year, in partnershi­p with an agribusine­ss consultant, the processor reviewed next season’s contract pricing and has committed to the 31% increase.

Other areas of support announced by McCain include a supplement­ary energy support package. For the current season, it has pledged to pay a supplement to those who’ve had to renew electricit­y contracts, or are paying variable rates.

Through this investment commitment and wider business initiative­s, McCain said it was taking the necessary steps to support the future of UK potato farming in the face of numerous issues. Environmen­tal threats such as droughts, heatwaves, and floods, coupled with increases in the prices of fertiliser and energy, had resulted in unpreceden­ted on-farm inflation for potato growers.

Vice-president of agricultur­e at McCain GB, James Young, said: “The combinatio­n of all these factors mean that they have experience­d one of the toughest growing seasons in the last 40 years. As the largest purchaser of British potatoes, we pride ourselves on our strong partnershi­ps with our 250 growers and are

MCCAIN’S INDEXATION Model method measures changes in the cost of production to ensure fair contract pricing for growers

committed to helping them overcome these challenges.

“However, more work needs to be done collaborat­ively to ensure the long-term viability of potato growing in the UK. We are committed to working with farmers, customers, industry leadership groups and the government to create a sustainabl­e future for years to come.”

Ben Sykes, a Yorkshire potato farmer who supplies McCain, said the challenge

of growing potatoes in a changing climate was compounded last year by significan­t inflation in agricultur­al inputs.

“McCain’s indexation model has acknowledg­ed these pressures for the 2023 season,” he explained. “This allows us to continue to focus on producing quality crops for the business whilst we strive to be resilient, financiall­y viable and environmen­tally sustainabl­e for the years to come.”

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