AM welcomes continued support for farmers

NEIL Hamilton, AM for Mid & West Wales, and Leader of UKIP Waleshas praised a major supermarket chain for its plans to step up its support for British Livestock farmers.

This week, Waitrose announced plans to source all its own label fresh and frozen lamb from British lamb producers 365 days of the year by June 2021.

The news has been welcomed by Neil Hamilton, a member of the Senedd’s Rural Affairs Committee and keen supporter of Welsh farmers.

He said: “This move clearly shows the commitment Waitrose has to supporting Welsh and British sheep producers.  This is excellent news for livestock farmers and I welcome the announcement from this major retailer.

“More and more people now want to show their support for home grown produce and meat and will welcome the opportunity easily to buy Welsh and British products.

 “I am pleased that it will be more readily available in our local supermarkets. Not only will this help our farmers but will also give a boost to our economy. 

 “We all want to support our farmers and what better way than to buy meat from home grown sources.  I hope other major supermarkets will follow the excellent example of Waitrose.”

Waitrose is already offering British lamb on its meat counters all year round and is aiming to complete the move to 100% British sourced, across all fresh and frozen all label lamb by the summer of 2021.

Tor Harris, Head of CSR, Health & Agriculture at Waitrose & Partners said: “Waitrose & Partners is renowned for its range of quality lamb products, something we over trade in comparatively to our market share. Although we are already in a great position, we are constantly looking at ways to innovate our product and are actively looking and were constantly looking to partner with new lamb producers around Britain to ensure we continue to offer great tasting, high quality lamb all year round.”

NFU Cymru Livestock Board Chairman Wyn Evans said they welcomed the commitment from the supermarket chain.

He said: “This comes at a time of great uncertainty for the sheep sector, so news that Waitrose will be moving to a year-round supply of Farm Assured quality Welsh and British lamb is a welcome boost.

“This is a really positive move from one of the major buyers of lamb in the UK which highlights that there is a strong appetite amongst consumers for Welsh and British lamb products. We look forward to working in partnership with Waitrose to help further grow sales of great tasting Welsh lamb.”