Tesco has pledged all its own-label yoghurt will be made with British milk from March 2016, according to farmer protest group Farmers for Action.
FFA announced the move in a statement on Thursday (20 August) following a meeting with the retailer on the current dairy farmer crisis.
In its announcement, FFA said the retailer had given it a “categorical assurance that by March 2016 all their own-label yoghurt will be made with British milk”. It added the reason for the changes not coming in until next year was “obviously contractual issues with their current supplier”.
The pledge comes after a meeting was held between FFA chairman David Handley, NFU dairy board vice chairman Michael Oakes and executives from Tesco on Wednesday (19 August) to discuss the ongoing dairy crisis, and following farmer protests at Tesco depots over the weekend.
Handley described the meeting as “very, very positive”, adding “we shared a lot of views on what is happening currently within the industry”.
A spokeswoman for Tesco did not comment on any specific outcomes from the meeting but said: ”Members of our dairy team had a constructive meeting with representatives from the FFA and NFU yesterday, as part of our collaborative approach with famers and growers in British Agriculture. We listened to the concerns they put forward, updated them on our current plans and are committed to build on the progress we have already made to help support the British dairy industry.”
The NFU and FFA have also asked Tesco to ensure that cheese bought from First Milk and South Caernarfon Creameries be bought at a minimum farm gate price of 28ppl, that Tesco cheese has to carry a single country of origin label rather than multi-country origins, and that all milk sold in One Stop Shops carry the Red Tractor logo.
The FFA statement said Tesco had “agreed to go away to discuss all the other issues, and we will reconvene the meeting on 2 September”, and urged farmers to “avoid protesting in any form at Tesco’s while these negotiations are continuing”.
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