Supermarkets Respond to Committee Concerns on Polish Beef Imports

Response from ASDA

Thank you for your letter dated 9 April regarding imports of Polish beef. I have outlined the details and context below which I hope will clarify the issue for you and the Committee.

As you know this is a very difficult time for everyone in the food supply chain and the role of all our key workers is greatly valued by Asda. Unfortunately, we have experienced some exceptional circumstances, particularly during March, when there was an unprecedented and sudden surge in consumer demand for food across the supermarket sector, as customers stocked up on essentials. At its peak, our sales of red meat were over 150% higher than normal levels. This included a huge spike in demand specifically for minced beef, as very large numbers of our customers, faced with very uncertain financial circumstances and shopping with the lockdown in mind, sought staple items and we were unable to procure what we needed from UK processors.

Our priority at that moment was to provide food which our customers needed and play our part in feeding the nation, therefore out of necessity we placed a one-off additional order of imported minced beef. This was the only minced beef option available to us and it was an attempt to keep our stores stocked at a time when night filled shelves were being emptied by 9am. We imported 200 tonnes of minced beef, which was a necessary stop- gap and for context was only a very small percentage of the estimated weekly demand during the peak panic buying period. The meat was sourced from suppliers with an understanding of UK retail and customer requirements including farm standards. This was a one-off unprecedented situation and does not diminish our commitment to sourcing local produce wherever possible, we know how important this is to our customers. The imported mince was not an ASDA product but a branded line. It was clearly labelled with the country of origin enabling customers to make informed buying decisions.

The farmers in our supply chain can be assured this was a one-off order, made due to unprecedented circumstances. In fact, none of this meat was sold in our Northern Ireland stores, where our shelves have remained overwhelmingly stocked with NI Farm Quality Assured produce. There is no change to our commitment to supporting local producers. We must all however concentrate on the challenges which lie ahead for the red meat supply chain. The food service market has essentially collapsed leaving additional supplies of higher value cuts over-hanging the market, and significant additional costs have been absorbed in our supply chain such as social distancing, which has also severely restricted trading patterns. We face a collective challenge to navigate this situation and we will play our part in promoting steaks and roasting joints to address the carcase imbalance issue.

Yours sincerely,

Joe McDonald
Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs