Waitrose today announced that it is to increase the prices it pays its beef and lamb producers. It said the market busting moves are designed to protect beef and lamb farmers from volatility in the market and offer them some financial protection in the wake of Blue Tongue and Foot and Mouth Disease.
The supermarket chain raised its payments to beef farmers by 10p a kilo today, giving farmers a minimum base price of at least £2.25 per kilo. The retailer has also introduced a series of structured payment increases over the next 18 months with the aim of reaching base level payments of £2.50. The new long term pricing structure is designed to give farmers some protection and allow them to plan ahead.
The retailer has also introduced new base level prices for lamb. It will pay lamb farmers a minimum of £2.30 a kilo for British lamb for the rest of the season. This is well above the market level which has seen prices plummet as low as £1.70 a kilo in the last fortnight.
The moves build on Waitrose’s long term policy of working collaboratively with farmers to ensure a sustainable supply of home grown produce.
Peter King, chief livestock adviser for the NFU, said: “This is a much needed step which will see a supermarket sharing risk with farmers. We will be encouraging other retailers to take similar steps to protect the supply of British beef and lamb.”
Heather Jenkins, head of Meat Buying at Waitrose, said: “In the wake of the foot and mouth outbreak, many livestock farmers in this country are at a cross roads. With the livestock market place in crisis, many farmers are facing the stark choice of leaving farming altogether switching away from livestock into more lucrative products such as biofuels and arable crops.
“Both we and our customers want to ensure that our farmers can continue to produce the very best beef and lamb, both now and in the long term. These new base level payments will allow farmers to plan ahead and give them some protection while market conditions are so challenging.”