Meat Procurement

Following the horsemeat scandal Tesco has pledged to source more of its food from the UK. Speaking at the NFU Conference, Tesco’s CEO Philip Clarke stated that “where it’s reasonable to do so, we will source from British producers.” He added that the supermarket would seek to sell fresh chicken sourced solely from the UK from July. Whether this pledge (with its rather obvious caveat) will actually result in much change will be seen over the coming months.

The Vion poultry and red meat business has been purchased by the 2 Sisters Group for around £30 million. The business currently generate £1bn in sales but the poultry side has been suffering recently after the loss of key contracts and is likely to require extensive investment. 2 Sisters will be well-placed to do this with its existing strong poultry business. It also has a record of improving acquisitions after its 2010 purchase of Northern Foods. The deal has come just in time to take full advantage of Tesco’s and other supermarkets pledge for more British meat following the horsemeat scandal. A 2 Sisters spokesperson stated that “it is not a coincidence that within a week of a major customer speaking about British sourcing, 2 Sisters agrees buy a business with a short and British supply chain”.

The Coop supermarket is to offer a premium beef price to source Hereford cattle. The contract will be run through the processor Dunbia and demand for 400-500 head of cattle is predicted. The meat will be marketed under the Coop’s ‘Truly Irresistible’ brand in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.