Greater promotion and emphasis on regional foods has helped rural retailer Mole Valley Farmers to increase sales by 6.3%.

The south west farmer-owned co-operative announced a £4m sales increase in its retail division to £66m last year with overall turnover up 10% to £183.5m.

However, pre-tax profits fell from £2.1m a year ago to £1.7m following the introduction of a trading rebate scheme for Farmer Shareholder members. Under the scheme, which has paid out more than £200,000 this year, farmers receive a retrospective rebate on agricultural inputs such as compound feeds, minerals, crop packaging and cereal seeds.

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