FDBusiness.com

Sainsbury’s plans to double the amount of British food it sells by 2020 as part of the UK supermarket group’s 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan. Sainsbury’s is already an industry leader in the sale of British produce, spending over £4 billion each year with its UK suppliers.

According to Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, the UK food industry can grow for the future with confidence, despite the current economic climate, by taking advantage of increasing customer demand for home-grown food. “This presents a great opportunity for British farmers, as Sainsbury’s customers increasingly ask for more quality, British food. Now all we need is the industry to work together to create sustainable supply chains for the future,” he comments. “In these tough economic times our country needs action to boost sustainability and create secure supply chains, so our long term commitment and investment will provide security and help the food industry plan and grow food for the future with confidence.”

Sainsbury’s farmers and growers have already benefited from working with the supermarket group to improve productivity and efficiency. Dairy farmers alone have saved over £10 million in the last five years thanks to improvements in animal welfare and savings in energy bills.

Justin King adds: “We’re going further than any other retailer to support farmers in the Sainsbury’s development groups by creating sustainable, resilient supply chains. So far we’ve invested over £30 million which includes funding for vet visits, environmental assessments, advice and new IT equipment. We will keep investing in British farming to support the economy and boost farm productivity, creating significant savings on our sustainability journey to 2020.”

Sainsbury’s has now established development groups across beef, lamb, pork, eggs, chicken, milk, cheese, grain and produce.