It comes after Tesco announced its ambitions to build partnerships, become more transparent and to make ‘real changes to the way Tesco source’, announced by the supermarket’s chief executive Philip Clarke at the NFU Conference last week.
The NFU said it welcomed the sentiment of Tesco’s latest announcements and is reassured that the UK farming industry’s biggest customer recognised the important role that farmers played in delivering quality food for their consumers.
NFU President Peter Kendall said: “We recognise the significance of Tesco’s commitments and will be working closely with its team to ensure that the retailer’s sentiments and latest commitments deliver real value to the sustainability of the UK farming industry.
“What we want to see is measurable changes on sourcing, longer term commitments and improved relationships. The meeting was a first step in working towards these goals and it showed clear signs that Tesco wants to build partnerships. There is a lot of work to be done and the NFU will be working to help Tesco deliver.”