DEFRA recommends that local producers apply for the EU's Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) scheme, and is committed to promoting this and similar schemes in the UK with the help of retailers. Such schemes have been shown to boost sales for smaller producers on the European continent.
Some UK retailers, however, "are more positive than others," DEFRA's regional and local sourcing policy advisor Simon Johnson says, "It's down to the priority they give to regional and speciality produce." According the Grocer article, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose are among those making efforts in this area.
According to Heart of England chief executive Karen Davies, packaging is the largest hurdle producers face, as smaller producers find it hard to compete with large manufacturers for visual impact .
Beef producers can increase the quality of their meat if they selectively breed cattle with good temperaments, new research has suggested. Researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization's Rendel Laboratory in Rockhampton, Australia claim to have found a relationship between good cattle temperament, improved productivity levels and overall meat quality.
A new report by Leatherhead Food International suggests that the market for fairtrade goods has similar prospects to that of the organics industry in the late 1980s, which rose from USD$0.4 billion to an estimated $25bn in 2003.
Sales of fairtrade goods grew at around 18 per cent a year between 1997 and 2002, and are expected to grow around 17% this year. LFI forecasts that the market will show 20-25% growth over the next five years, to be worth almost $1bn by 2007.
