Tesco, Aldi and Lidl top chart stocking nearly 100 per cent Scotch Beef

A clear drive by retailers to support Scottish farmers, crofters and the country’s beef industry was evident during the latest shelf watch carried out by NFU Scotland.

The shelf watch survey, carried out from 3 to 7 October, found that out of the 14 stores surveyed, 74 per cent of the beef stocked was Scotch Beef.

Whilst there was overall strong support, this did vary by the nine retailers, with secret shoppers in one Waitrose store finding no Scotch Beef products on the shelf, while others found 100 per cent Scotch Beef.

Although this is just a snapshot of the overall picture, these results demonstrate a clear drive from a number of retailers to support Scottish farmers and the Scottish beef industry.

Overall 14 supermarket stores were visited from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, and more than 2,800 packs of beef were counted. Tesco, Aldi and Lidl topped the chart with all three supermarkets stocking near 100 per cent Scotch Beef across all of their stores.

NFU Scotland Livestock Committee Chairman, Charlie Adam, commented “Today’s results demonstrate that support for Scotch Beef from Scottish retailers is a mixed bag. Credit must go to Tesco, Aldi and Lidl for their support for Scottish provenance for beef.

“Scotch Beef rightly has a strong international reputation and it is clear that shoppers want to be able to eat Scotch Beef in Scotland. With Brexit negotiations on the horizon we need strong support for Scottish food and farming from Scottish retailers and we hope the sourcing of Scottish beef can be improved in the future.

“Price deflation for meat continues to impact the industry and this is an ongoing concern for Scotland’s farmers and crofters, but it is positive to see strong demand for Scotch Beef by some large retailers.

“While 97 per cent of the beef counted was either Scottish or British there was also an amount of imported beef. With uncertainty over the future trading relationship of the United Kingdom with the rest of the world we would like to see all retailers decrease their reliance on imported meat.”

Notes to Editors

• This shelf watch survey was carried out exclusively on meat aisles. Scotch beef is available at butcher counters in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, the Co-op, Marks and Spencer, and Waitrose.
• NFU Scotland’s beef shelf watch surveyed a total of 14 supermarket stores between 3 and 7 October 2016.
• Shelf watch results demonstrated a 74 per cent commitment to beef produced in Scotland. Overall 2,871 packs of fresh beef were counted, in stores.
• Fresh beef cuts and steaks were counted by NFU Scotland members and staff.
• The shelf watch findings were:
  
  

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Contact Ruth McClean on 0131 472 4108