Local food shows 40pc yearly rise

The company now has a sales target of £1 billion for regional produce by 2011 said Alistair Robinson, Tesco’s North of England senior buying manager.

“We try to give the consumer what they want and anticipate what they will want in future,” he said. “So it is Tesco’s policy to get behind local food and promote it.

“Customers do not necessarily trust that when we say a product is British, it actually is,” admitted Mr Robinson.

Tesco has set up eight regional sales teams in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and five regions in England – North, Midlands, East, South East and South West. This is managed by a team of 29 staff dedicated to local sourcing.

“Customers expect local produce to be competitive with mainstream produce,” he said. One local supplier was wanting to increase the price Tesco paid them but it would mean selling at a premium price and Tesco was not prepared to do that.