Sainsbury's CEO Justin King has reiterated that the supermarket will not support Red Tractor labelling. Sainsbury's caused a stir last year when the company announced it would be phasing out the use of the logo – which denotes British production – on its packaging.

Speaking at the NFU conference in Birmingham, Mr King said Sainsbury's did not want to support a label that sets the bar low and does not differentiate the product enough in customers' eyes. Although Red Tractor and the NFU claim that the logo represents good standards of animal welfare, environmental protection and traceability, investigations by welfare groups have concluded that the assurance scheme offers few benefits beyond the UK's legal minimum standards.

Mr King said "frankly anybody" could use the logo and added that industry-wide schemes like Red Tractor "are the refuge of scoundrels." He said labels that denote high welfare or ethical considerations, such as Fairtrade, are more valuable to the customer and the supermarket.

However, he was at pains to stress that, though it would not support Red Tractor, Sainsbury's is sourcing more products than ever before from British farmers.

In his speech, King covered the investments being made by Sainsbury's to support farmers and drive innovation in Britain. He added that now, more than ever, given the adverse weather and economic difficulties this will cause, building better relationships between the retailer, its farmer suppliers and customers is of utmost importance.

King added, "Together with our farmers we have invested in where and how food is produced, and as we work towards our commitment to double the amount of British food we sell by 2020 our farming Development Groups and UK producers will be key to this."

The Sainsbury's Chief Executive said the supermarket's strategy will focus on selling more British produce when it is in season, as well as looking into growing produce in Britain that would historically be sourced from abroad.  He pointed to some examples of Sainsbury's commitment to British farming, such as switching to sourcing 100 percent of fresh pork products from Britain last summer (sausages, eggs and milk are also all sourced domestically), sourcing 100 percent British fresh chicken for over ten years and spending £2.2 million on agricultural R&D over the past two years.

Although Mr King said Sainsbury's aims to source more British products, he said focus would remain on the customer. He claimed that offering imported produce including strawberries and asparagus year-round, even when they are out of season in the UK, has raised sales across the board.