image expired

Christmas and New Year are peak times for the sale of quality cuts of beef, an important time for processors and farmer alike. Aisles full of locally supplied roasts are the expectation, however supermarket ‘giant’ Tesco failed to meet consumers demands for British beef in their South West stores.

Imports are vital to balance shortages in supply, however, with sufficient supply available and no reports of shortages from processors, the NBA question the lack of British produce available.  The South West is renowned for being one of the largest cattle producing areas in the country, with a strong PGI brand. Selling imported beef in the South West is similar to the old adage of sending coals to Newcastle.

Disappointed by the lack of availability of British produce, consumers have contacted the NBA enquiring why local beef is not available.  NBA Chief Executive Chris Mallon commented, “With ample supply from processors and cattle available, the only justification for Tesco for failing to support British farmers is to increase their margin.  The NBA feels this is unacceptable, with now more than ever the need to support home-grown produce”.

Tesco’s marketing campaigns show large images of British farmers and place a strong emphasis on ‘working together’ with local suppliers, yet recently in reality, in the South West, their shelves tell a different tale.

When consumers questioned the supermarket giant as to the lack of British product available, Tesco’s response was as follows:

 “We are constantly reviewing product quality on the beef that is purchased and we have found at this moment we are finding the beef from Ireland to be of a better quality for our customers.

This is the reason for you seeing so much Irish beef on the shelves, customer satisfaction is very important to us and we are constantly monitoring our products.”

Mr Mallon responded:“It is shameful for Tesco to blame the quality of British product for its absence on Tesco shelves. The real reason is their buying policy which prioritises “cheapest first”. It shows a complete disregard for Tesco’s UK suppliers to put out statements falsely informing consumers that British product is inferior, instead of admitting that they source on price.

Tesco’s decision to abandon British beef on the run up to Christmas can be explained by a snapshot of prices paid to farmers, for the week ending the 18/11/17 when supermarkets were sourcing meat for the festive season. The British average price was 378.9p/kg whilst ROI was in sterling terms 333.7p/kg. Hence, ROI beef was a cheap substitute to British Beef and therefor more appealing to Tesco red meat buyers.

I have spoken to several beef processors, of which none had experienced any problems with the quality or availability of British beef at the end of 2017. A blatant lie from the supermarket giant.

British beef is renowned worldwide for its provenance, traceability, eating quality and high welfare standards. I am intrigued by the assessment procedures used by Tesco to analyse beef quality when they passed judgement that British beef was inferior.

As we move into a post Brexit trading scenario the Tesco “cheapest first” buying policy will be destructive to British farmers and consumers.  Their buying policy will eventually not increase choice but reduce it as British producers leave the industry after being swamped with food produced under standards unacceptable in the UK.

Consumers want to buy British beef and I give Tesco the opportunity to make the same commitment to buying British as local farm shops, Co-op, Morrisons, Waitrose, M&S, Lidl and Aldi.”

The NBA believes that it is paramount that supermarkets show their support for British produce, particularly around the peak festive season and uncertain political times.  British farmers produce beef to some of the highest global health and welfare standards and should not be forced to compete with inferior products.