Rising discounter Aldi has made a number of new commitments to UK growers which could change the face of retailer and supplier relations in this country, the has NFU said.
Aldi has become the first retailer to sign up to the NFU’s Fruit and Veg pledge. NFU horticulture chairman Guy Poskitt said the response to the pledge clearly details the "integrity, honesty and openness" of its business.
He said: “It highlights its commitment to long-term supply relationships, equitable distribution of reward along the supply chain and fair and respectful trading relationships.
“Aldi is looking at a wide range of ways of working with its suppliers and the NFU believes that this could see a big sea-change in the way the whole of the supply chain works.
“We know that there are other retailers who have best practice measures in place, but we must praise Aldi for doing so publicly and by committing to the key aims of our pledge – fair prices, long-term guarantees, seasonal British produce and above all, a healthy supply chain which is fair to the supplier and retailer.”
Tony Baines, managing director of buying at Aldi, said: “As a long-standing supporter of British farmers, Aldi is proud to back the NFU’s Fruit and Veg Pledge. True to our family values, we treat growers and packers across the UK equally and fairly. This allows us to build long-term and sustainable relationships with them, which in turn enables our customers to benefit from unbeatable prices and quality.
“The transparency and fairness with which we treat all our suppliers was recently recognised by the Groceries Code Adjudicator’s annual supplier survey, which named Aldi as the best performing grocery retailer for compliance.”
Some of Aldi's commitments include:
• It will not force suppliers to fund promotions – popular BOGOF offers are commonly funded by growers;
• It will not charge suppliers for customer complaints, missed or late deliveries – a major concern and at a large cost to the industry;
• It will pay the agreed price – there will be no back margin mechanisms such as penalties or over-riders;
• It will commit to buying seasonal British fruit and veg – Aldi is already an industry leader at 40%.
