The accelerated and enhanced payment plan will see Tesco suppliers increase payments to farmers by £6.6m until August, bringing support for Tesco farmers to a total of £10m since the start of March 2022. Tesco said it would work with its suppliers to ensure the investment gets passed to farmers as quickly as possible.
The supermarket chain had come under criticism for failing to take swifter action to support UK pig farmers with NPA chairman Rob Mutimer pressing Tesco in an open letter to act to prevent the ‘destruction of the UK pig sector.”
'I Love British' brand
Tesco said that since January, the retailer has taken an extra 32,000 pigs, and plans to take a further extra 22,000 in the months ahead. It said it had taken a number of initiatives designed to help British pig farmers and boost the amount of British pork in Tesco stores.
This included adding more fresh British pork products in store, adding 15 pork promotions in store for customers since January as well as launching an 'I Love British' brand to its bacon range, with a ham product launching later this month.
In the longer-term, Tesco has committed to reviewing pricing on a more frequent basis, providing more flexibility for farmers when market prices change.
Transparency
Tesco fresh commercial director, Dominic Morrey said: "We fully recognise the seriousness of the situation UK pig farmers are facing and have been working closely with our suppliers to understand what more we can do to support the sector. On top of the increased volume of British pork we’re now offering our customers, we will be increasing payments to British pig farmers by £10m through to August this year. We know there is more to do, and we will be working with suppliers, farmers and the wider industry to drive more transparency and sustainability across our supply chains and support the future of the British pig industry.”
Jim Brisby, chief commercial officer for Tesco pork supplier Cranswick, said: “We’ve been working with Tesco to find a more sustainable way of paying our farmers for pigs, and we are pleased with the progress we have made to increase the availability of British pork to Tesco shoppers, and are continuing to work with the team to significantly increase these volumes even further over the next few months. The announcement today regarding the increased prices paid to British farmers will also help to support those farmers supplying Tesco.”
