McAleer welcomes clarity from supermarkets on beef imports

The Chair of the Assembly’s Agriculture Committee Declan Mc Aleer, pictured, has welcomed the commitment from a number of leading supermarkets to sourcing local beef.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Apr 2020, 07:00 BST
Updated 29th Apr 2020, 09:24 BST
Caoimhe Archibald, with Councillor Dermot Nicholl, Declan McAleer MLA and Cathal Hassan MLA at the DARD fundingadvice meeting held in the Drummond hotel this week. INLV4215-018KDRCaoimhe Archibald, with Councillor Dermot Nicholl, Declan McAleer MLA and Cathal Hassan MLA at the DARD fundingadvice meeting held in the Drummond hotel this week. INLV4215-018KDR
Caoimhe Archibald, with Councillor Dermot Nicholl, Declan McAleer MLA and Cathal Hassan MLA at the DARD fundingadvice meeting held in the Drummond hotel this week. INLV4215-018KDR

Mr McAleer said: “Earlier this month we learned that the ABP Food Group imported 400 tonnes of Polish beef into Britain which was retailed by Asda and Sainsbury’s.

“This caused a huge level of anger among our local beef producers at a time when there is surplus beef available here for export and when prices have dropped to an unprecedented low for our farmers.

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“The committee wrote to nine major supermarket and retail chains to voice our concerns and to stress the importance of supporting our local producers.

“We have received five responses so far.

“In their reply to the committee, the Musgrave group which represents the SuperValu, Centra and Mace brands stated that all of their beef is sourced on the island of Ireland and stated their awareness of the pivotal role the local beef farmer plays in the supply chain.

“M&S indicated that all of their beef is sourced from 5100 UK select farms of which 1112 farms are in the north.

“Their beef DNA programme ensures that all produce can be traced back to the farm and individual animal.

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“Iceland Foods Ltd confirmed that they source all their fresh beef from Dunbia in the north and reaffirmed their commitment to domestic customers while Asda said that the 200 tonnes of minced beef they imported from Poland was a ‘one-off’ order to cope with demand during a peak panic buying period and reaffirmed their commitment to local producers.

“The AERA committee received a holding reply from Lidl and is seeking clarification on the response received from the Co-op.

“The committee is still awaiting responses from Dunnes, Sainsburys, Tesco and Spar.”

Mr McAleer concluded: “This is an unprecedented era of low farm gate prices, reduced cash flow and a sudden change in the market brought on by the COVID crisis and the lockdown.

“Now, more than ever we need to support each other and support our farmers who are the critical primary producers in our food chain.”

Related topics:ASDA