The commitment of supermarkets to stocking Scottish produce in their stores north of the border is waning, new figures show.
Findings from the third National Farmers’ Union Scotland (NFUS) ShelfWatch survey of the year have Aldi continuing to lead the way.
But the same retailer was also behind the biggest decline in support for Scottish in the third quarter of 2024.
Aldi had the highest amount of own-brand Scottish produce, 35.4%.
This is down from 48% and 45% in the first and second quarters of the year respectively.
Co-op was second, with 25%, ahead of Marks & Spencer (M&S) on 18%.
Bottom of the heap, among eight retailers, is Sainsbury’s. Just 6.8% of own-branded products on the shelves of its Scottish stores in the third quarter originated in Scotland.
ShelfWatch has seen a decline in Scottish-branded produce across almost all retailers.
Over a 48-hour period in late autumn, an independent research firm visited 73 stores across mainland Scotland.
Researchers looked primarily at own-brand beef, lamb, pork, chicken, eggs, vegetables, soft fruit and dairy products – milk, cheese, butter and yoghurt – on offer in Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, M&S, Lidl and Aldi stores.
In total, more than 15,000 individual products were audited.
‘Disappointing’ results
NFUS described the findings as “disappointing”.
Only Lidl delivered a better set of results, compared with the second quarter.
As well as understanding how the retailers are making Scottish produce available, ShelfWatch also looked at UK own-brand products to give a combined ranking.
Some Scottish produce is sold with UK branding, something which NFUS is seeking to learn more about.
Co-op comes out on top for UK-branded produce
In the combined Scottish and UK branded rankings, Co-op moved up to first position, with M&S in second and Morrisons third.
There were modest changes in the overall stocking of UK products. The largest increase was Tesco, up 7%.
Scottish sourcing discussions
Since ShelfWatch started in January 2024, NFUS officials have held meetings with all eight retailers to discuss both the opportunities and barriers for more Scottish sourcing.
The union has also commissioned independent consumer research which supported changes to the labelling rules affecting Scottish food and drink.
NFUS president Martin Kennedy said: “On behalf of farmers and crofters, NFU Scotland is continuing with its ShelfWatch project, shining a light on where and how Scottish produce is being made available to consumers.
“We want to support our members to ensure there is recognition and reward for the outstanding food they work so hard to produce.
“These latest set of results are disappointing, and we have yet to see the increased support for locally produced produce that we hoped for.”
He added: “At a time when our farmers and crofters are facing so many challenges, we need all parts of the supply chain to step up and play their role.
“Whilst there are good examples of this, we believe there is potential to do so much more.
“We have written to each major retailer… to seek further discussions on how we can support them to redouble their efforts.”
Demand for more Scottish produce is out there, says NFUS president
Mr Kennedy continued: “To supplement our ShelfWatch work, we commissioned an independent company in October to undertake consumer research to help us understand demand for Scottish produce.
“The results of that told us that consumers want products which are branded Scottish.
“Delivering on Scottish is a win-win for our farmers and retailers.
“The ShelfWatch project is evolving, and already helping us build up a picture of how major retailers operate.”
‘Improved dialogue’ opening up with retailers
It is also “opening up an improved dialogue” with retailers, Mr Kennedy said, adding: “We look forward to building on this as part of an increased focus on the supply chain.
“We will continue to use the results to inform ongoing retailer engagement and to underpin relevant policy workstreams.”
Strong demand for Scotch Beef
The latest ShelfWatch findings show support for Scottish beef remains strong.
Across all stores Scottish beef continued to account for the majority of own label
products at 56.5%.
However, this was down from 58.2% in the previous survey.
- UK beef accounted for 41.9% in the latest study, up from 40.7%, followed by Irish at 1.7%.
- Six of the eight retailers stocked more than 60% Scottish in their beef sections.
- Lidl had the largest proportion of Scotch Beef at 93.5%, up from 82.8% previously.
- Sainsburys continued to stock the least amount of Scottish beef, just 7.8% and the highest proportion of Irish beef, 9.3%.
- Aldi had the biggest fall in the amount of own brand beef labelled as Scottish to 61.2%, from 84% previously.
Mixed results for Scotch Lamb
Scottish lamb was more variable, with three retailers stocking either low levels or none.
But overall the proportion of Scotch Lamb was comparable with the previous ShelfWatch at 32% of own label products.
- UK lamb accounted for 52.8%, followed by New Zealand produce at 11.7%, Australian at 3.4% and a small amount of Irish (0.1%).
- Lidl continued to stock the most Scotch Lamb at 92.7% of own label, up from 90.9% in the previous quarter.
- Asda continued to stock no Scotch Lamb, with the majority (65.3%) coming from
New Zealand, followed by 23.4% from Australia and 11.3% from the UK.
Low levels of Scottish chicken and pork remain across most of the retailers, NFUS said.
It is the same story for processed pork products, like bacon and sausages.
NFUS added: “We need to understand more about the reasons for this.”
Aldi bucks sorry trend for fresh Scottish pork
- Aldi was the only retailer supplying Scottish pork in all three categories of fresh, bacon and sausages.
- Aldi was also the only retailer to stock Scottish fresh pork. All of its fresh pork
was Scottish. - Overall, just 3.7% of fresh pork on supermarket shelves was Scottish.
- Co-Op, M&S, Morrisons, Lidl and Sainsburys all exclusively stocked British fresh pork.
- Asda (40%) and Tesco (15%) had “considerable quantities” of pork imported from Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.
- Aldi and Lidl were the only retailers to stock Scottish bacon, although quantities “remain small”.
- Sainsbury’s had previously stocked a “very modest offering” of Scottish bacon, but none was found this time.
- Overall, the amount of Scottish bacon was around 2%, with the rest made up from the UK (45%) and imports from the EU – mostly from Germany, Denmark
and the Netherlands.
NFUS said: “While it is good to see Aldi and Lidl showing a small uplift in the amount of Scottish bacon they supplied, the remainder of their supply was imported from the
EU, 70 and 74% respectively.
Scottish chicken bounces back at the Co-op
Chicken results were assessed on a like-for-like basis across the three audits to date.
- Following a drop in the amount of Scottish chicken between the first and second audits, the Co-op bounced back. It increased its Scottish chicken by 25%, overtaking Aldi as top supplier.
- M&S and Morrisons were the only other retailers selling Scottish chicken.
- M&S marginally increased the amount of Scottish chicken between the first and third audits, but Morrisons decreased its Scottish offering by 22%.
- The remaining retailers were 100% UK in the third quarter.
Which retailers back Scottish eggs?
- Aldi, Lidl and the Co-op stocked 100% Scottish eggs.
- Sainsburys remained the only retailer not to stock any Scottish eggs.
- There were no imported eggs found, everything was Scottish or UK.
- Aldi, Asda and Tesco were the only suppliers to offer barn eggs, and all of these
were Scottish. - Lidl and Asda were the only retailers offering enriched caged eggs and again all
were Scottish. - Overall, 73% or free-range eggs and 76% of all eggs were Scottish.
Who is top for Scottish potatoes?
- Aldi had the highest amount (89.7%) of Scottish potatoes.
- Three retailers – the Co-op, Lidl and Sainsburys – all stocked more than 50% Scottish
potatoes. - Morrisons stocked the least Scottish branded potatoes, at 8.6%.
- Tesco stocked no Scottish branded potatoes but maintained a high level of UK products.
- Sainsburys has shown a consistent rise in Scottish branded product, from 29.6%
in January to 59.4% in September. - Asda and the Co-op both increased their Scottish branded product, by 29.4% and 14.3% respectively.
All supermarkets surveyed are selling imports, averaging out at 11% of the total.
Aldi loves Scottish vegetables
- Aldi stocked the highest percentage (62.4%) of Scottish vegetables, significantly more than any other retailer.
- The Co-op had the lowest proportion, stocking only 3.1% Scottish.
- Tesco was second lowest – stocking only 5% Scottish, although the remainder were mostly UK vegetables (93%).
Co-op tops for Scottish soft fruit
- The Co-op stocked the highest overall percentage (93%).
- M&S had the lowest amount of Scottish fruit at 15.9%.
- All retailers had some Scottish fruit.
- The highest percentage was seen in strawberries, which were 66.5% Scottish.
- The lowest percentage of Scottish soft fruit was seen in raspberries, with 7.9%.
We believe Scottish produce should be branded as Scottish where possible.” NFUS
NFUS said: “There is still support for Scottish soft fruit, although all the retailers are importing due to the end of the Scottish season.
“There appears to be low levels of Scottish vegetables and potatoes, although there are significant amounts of vegetables that are grown, processed and packed in Scotland that are being branded as UK.
“We believe Scottish produce should be branded as Scottish where possible.”
NFUS said it found strong support among retailers for Scottish fresh milk and eggs.
Aldi storms it for Scottish dairy produce
- All fresh milk was Scottish or UK
- Asda and Aldi own label fresh milk was 100% Scottish, with Sainsbury’s and the
Co-op at 97%. - Morrisons was lowest, with just over 51% own label Scottish fresh milk.
- Aldi was the only retailer offering Scottish own label butter (44%).
- The Co-op stocked branded Scottish butter (13%).
- Overall, Aldi came out on top in supporting the Scottish dairy sector, stocking the most own label Scottish milk, butter, cheese and 62% branded Scottish yoghurt.
Supermarkets’ response
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “We’re proud to work with hundreds of Scottish farmers and suppliers to offer a range of products – from potatoes and berries, to beef and salmon.
“This survey fails to recognise the significant volume of raw material which Sainsbury’s sources from Scotland, the long-term relationships we have across the Scottish agricultural industry or the variety of Scottish-sourced goods that can be found in our stores.”
Other supermarkets we approached for comment failed to do so before a set deadline.
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