The time has come for retailers to make good on their promises, the acting chairman of the NFU’s Horticulture and Potatoes Board has said.
Guy Poskitt hosted Tesco at a meeting of the NFU council recently, during which the retailer indicated that two-year contracts may be offered to those fresh-produce suppliers that want them. Poskitt said: “I explained that in horticulture, two-year contracts may still not be long enough and I insisted that the contracts need not only to be based on volume, but also on value. Tesco also confirmed that they had no desire for their suppliers not to make a profit, and neither did their customers.”
But a 14 per cent drop in farm incomes announced by DEFRA at the end of last month throws this commitment into sharp focus. Poskitt said: “This has to be a huge concern to us all. DEFRA's figures may come as no surprise following the wettest year in a century, but this is a stark reminder of how important it is to more fairly balance risk and reward. Tesco, and all other retailers, please take note.”
