NFU Scotland has described its meeting with supermarket bosses and the rest of the food supply chain today as critical for consumers and the food and farming industries.
NFUS met first minister Alex Salmond, who is hosting the meeting, and cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead last week to discuss the financial position of farmers. During the meeting, the NFUS stressed the need for retailers to recognise that the supply chain had to boost its efficiency if it wanted supermarkets to secure a future for high-quality Scottish produce.
NFUS president Jim McLaren said: “Between 1998 and 2005, prices to farmers fell by nine per cent, while our costs of production rose by 15 per cent.
“The Scottish government is taking a lead on this issue, and that will be welcomed by farmers across the country. We need the big supermarkets to realise that because of pressure on food producers, they will find the supply of high-quality, Scottish food jeopardised, and consumers will pay the penalty in reduced choice. The knock-on consequences for Scottish jobs in the food production and processing industries would be horrendous.
“We have been speaking on a daily basis to the supermarkets, and I hope this initiative from the Scottish government, which is hugely important, will add further momentum to the efforts to get a supply chain that fairly rewards all parts in it,” he added.
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