A group of farmers have protested outside an Asda supermarket over claims the company is banning a number of Northern Irish products from its shelves over Christmas.
They held a demonstration outside Asda in Larne, County Antrim, saying it was replacing locally grown potatoes with cheaper alternatives from Britain.
Farmer Stephen Christie said Asda’s move would make things “very difficult for farming families” this Christmas.
Asda said the “overwhelming majority” of potatoes sold in stores in Northern Ireland are locally produced.
It added that it understood “the frustration of local farmers at the use of imported produce” in its discounted Christmas offers and agreed to discuss the issue with the Ulster Farmers’ Union.
‘Undermining our company’
Stephen Christie said Asda’s move would impact business for farmers [BBC]
Stephen Christie told BBC News NI that the supermarket was “undermining our business” by bringing in potatoes from Britain.
“We grow all year round at Christmas, there should be good business for us,” he added.
“They should support local produce at Christmas.”
The campaign stressed that the switch to cheaper imported products during the festive season would “certainly have financial consequences” for farmers.
‘They are excluded’
East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson was also at the protest [BBC]
Area MP Sammy Wilson. who attended the protest to show his support for farmers, said Asda needed to “answer questions”.
“Asda supplies local customers. They have local suppliers who can make potatoes available to those customers and they have decided that instead of buying locally they are going to buy from England,” said Wilson.
“Most of the year for their market is Christmas and they are excluded by a major supermarket.
“This completely goes against the promises that supermarkets make about buying local.”
Mr Wilson said excluding farmers would “make food sustainability much more difficult” in the long term.
In a statement, an Asda spokesperson said: “The vast majority of our potatoes sold in Northern Ireland stores are locally produced and we are proud to support local growers in Northern Ireland all year round.”
They added that Asda had brought in a vegetable offer for Christmas “to support families when they need it most”.
“We understand local growers’ frustration with the use of imported products in these offerings and have listened carefully to their feedback over the past few days,” the statement said.
“We have agreed to discuss these concerns further with the UFU (Ulster Farmers’ Union) early this year.
