Dalton Philips, chief executive of the UK's fourth-largest food retailer Morrisons, has set out bold plans for the group to become the UK's largest fresh food manufacturer.
Philips delivered the message at Morrisons' second annual farming conference, where it met with more than 350 farmers and suppliers in the agricultural community.
Alongside a planned £21m (€25.2m) investment in its livestock supply business, Philips revealed there would also be significant investment in the retailer's fruit, vegetable and salad packing operation, adding to recent investments in seafood and meat processing, Fruitnet reported.
The development of Morrisons' fresh produce sourcing forms part of an overall £200m (€240.4m) investment in the expansion of its manufacturing food arm by 2013.
The result is expected to be that Morrisons will buy more fresh food directly from farmers than its rivals.
Philips commented: "If market conditions continue, we will become the UK's largest manufacturer of fresh food by 2015. This investment sets us apart from other retailers and means that we will be the biggest customer for UK farms."
He added: "This will continue to build on our record of serving the freshest and best food that our farmers have to offer with minimal waste in the supply chain."
By making more of its fresh products, he suggested, Morrisons aims to control quality, cut out middlemen and deal directly with producers, procuring and making use of "whole crops of fruit and vegetables".
Vion Food Group, whose operations are concentrated mainly in the meat sector, is currently the UK's largest manufacturer of fresh food, with Morrisons the second largest.
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