Growers have criticised retailers as many dropped the prices of staple vegetable products to just eight pence in a bid to lure customers over Easter.
Morrisons promised its shoppers an ‘Easter celebration with 89% savings’, slashing the price of 1kg of British carrots, 500g of British parsnips and a British whole swede to just 8p each between Monday 14th and Sunday 20th April, while 2kg of Morrisons potatoes were priced at £1.10. Lidl reduced the price of key items including carrots, white potatoes and green beans to 15p.
While Lidl stressed the low prices did not affect the price paid to growers, many have criticised the perception around food costs which such promotions create. “The supermarket carefully plans any promotions, which means, regardless of the Easter promotional activity in store, growers receive their usual contracted price,” Lidl said in a statement.
Richard Bourns, Lidl chief commercial officer, added, “We believe that everyone should have access to fresh, high-quality food, and Easter is no exception… Lidl hold a proud, long-standing commitment to British agriculture, and through our long-term partnerships and fixed-cost pricing, our producers are guaranteed a fair price all year round. This commitment allows us to offer our customers the unbeatable value they expect from us, without ever compromising on quality or fairness.”
However, NFU President Tom Bradshaw commented that while promotions can help drive sales, retailers must take responsibility for their decisions to massively discount products and ensure it does not have long-term impacts on the public’s perception of true market value and production costs.
“As an industry we need to drive investment to deliver for future food security and the British people who truly value high-quality, homegrown food,” he said. “A crucial part of that is a fair and transparent market, where farmers and growers can get fair returns for the risk and capital invested.”
And it isn’t just UK growers who are becoming frustrated with extremely low discounting by retailers. French association Sauvons les Fruits et Légumes de France has accused Lidl of waging a price war in the country, with fresh produce in the vanguard. “The days when Lidl showed great respect for French producers are long gone,” the association claimed on social media.
“Today, the chain is once again waging a price war, with the major risk that its competitors will follow suit, disregarding their commitment to the French origin and producer remuneration made at the International Agricultural Show in Paris… Low prices do not pay producers, and imports kill them.”
