Lidl backs British farming with £15bn investment

Lidl campaign supporter Back British Farming_42719

These are to:

  • Invest a record £15 billion in British businesses over the next five years.
  • Increase sales of British sourced fresh meat, poultry and fresh produce by more than 10% across the next 12 months.
  • Introduce longer-term contracts to provide further stability to its suppliers.
  • Launch a new young farmers programme offering support for new talent in the British farming industry.

Lidl has been a strong supporter of British farming, having previously:

Ryan McDonnell, chief commercial officer at Lidl GB said:

“As our business continues to grow, it’s vital that our suppliers remain at the heart of our growth plans, and that is why we are committing to investing at least £15 billion over the next five years. Our business is only ever as good as our suppliers, so our investments and commitments are key to ensuring that they can invest and expand with us.

“Our long-term partnerships with farmers are all the more important during economic uncertainty, and with 2019 marking our 25th anniversary, we are more committed than ever to supporting our suppliers here in Britain and offering customers British-sourced products in the future."

Christine McDowell, NFU food chain adviser, said:

“The NFU welcomes the commitments announced by Lidl today (16 October). Lidl’s significant investment in British businesses and its commitment to longer-term contracts will give a level of security, stability and confidence to farmers supplying Lidl in times of uncertainty and volatility.

"Lidl is going through phenomenal growth currently with ambitions to grow further. I’m pleased to see Lidl valuing the importance of its British farming suppliers and implementing a strategy to ensure British farming is central to its business growth strategy."

Lidl currently has a market share of 6% with ambitious expansion plans, including opening up to 60 new stores in 2019. Earlier in 2019, Lidl also announced a £500m investment to open new stores in London over the next five years. 

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