Scotland’s first-ever Supermarket Summit was chaired by the country’s first minister on Thursday, with top retailers from across the UK coming together to discuss how they can work with the Scottish government to achieve sustainable economic growth.
Attendees discussed how retailers can support the Scottish government to help secure a sustainable future for Scotland's primary food producers as well as sustainable economic growth for Scotland.
Specific measures agreed by retailers included:
• Agreeing to join a retail forum to take forward the national food and drink policy, to achieve the freshest, finest future for Scottish produce
• Continuing to work towards reducing waste, including a new target to reduce carrier bag use by 50 per cent by Spring 2009
• Considering how to support 2009 Year of Homecoming.
First minister Alex Salmond said: “[The] first-ever supermarket summit is a very welcome and positive start to our future work with top retailers.
“At a time when households across Scotland are struggling with soaring fuel bills and the rising cost of living, the Scottish government is working hard to bridge the gap between the producers and consumers of food. That is why we have gathered together Scotland's major food retailers, to look at how we can work together to provide the public with Scotland’s freshest finest food.
“Earlier this year I agreed to eat only Scottish food for a week and enjoyed every mouthful. Now I want to help make sure people across Scotland can continue to enjoy fresh, healthy and affordable Scottish produce. By promoting Scottish produce we can add to Scotland’s economic resilience, while supporting a healthier future.
"Farming has an integral part to play for our economy, health and rural communities. I want to see a dynamic and competitive industry play its part in helping to achieve sustainable economic growth through food production and environmental management of agricultural land.”
Cabinet secretary for rural affairs and environment Richard Lochhead said: “It is timely we should meet to discuss these important issues as we continue to develop our first national food and drink policy. We are highly aware there is a growing interest in the provenance of what we eat - people want to know where their food comes from, how it was grown and the impact production has had on the environment.
“There has already been a seismic shift in demand for Scottish produce, with encouraging sales increases across a number of companies represented today. We hope by working closely with retailers over the coming months, we will help meet this growing consumer demand for the freshest, finest Scottish produce.”
Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said the the involvement of high level executives in the summit - which included the chief executives of Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, the chairman of Tesco and executive board directors of Marks & Spencer, Somerfield, The Co-op and Waitrose - confirmed “the sector’s commitment to the Scottish economy and clearly demonstrates the importance we attach to the Scottish market and Scottish produce.”
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