Supplier relations with supermarkets were in the spotlight last week after BBC’s The One Show backed the NFU’s Fruit and Veg pledge.
The programme, which reaches millions of viewers each day, used a feature on food waste to highlight the importance of “repairing the fractured relationship between suppliers and the supermarkets”.
It questioned the effectiveness of retailer initiatives to sell out-of-spec produce and backed the NFU’s Fruit and Veg Pledge as a way of supporting suppliers.
Jack Ward, chief executive of British Growers Association, was interviewed in the programme. He said that while whole crop utilisation was good, it’s important to make sure there was an “adequate return from everything that comes from UK farms, so there’s money to invest for the future”.
“We spoke to the programme makers before the show was aired,” said NFU horticulture and potatoes Adviser, Lee Abbey. “They were very interested in the NFU’s Fruit and Veg Pledge which challenges retailers to build more collaboration with their suppliers. It was great to see that they talked about the Pledge on the programme and reinforced our call for retailers to do better.”
The episode is available to watch here.
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