Waitrose boss hints at prices rises amid eco-friendly farming practice
- Executive director James Bailey said the ‘value of food needs reappraising’
- It announced that all Waitrose products will come from ‘regen’ sources by 2035
Waitrose’s boss has hinted at further rises in food prices as the supermarket ramps up its eco-friendly farming in bid to battle climate change.
James Bailey the company’s executive director has argued that the ‘value of food needs reappraising’ and that customers should consider that in some case ‘prices should go up’.
It comes as the supermarket giant announced that from 2035 all of its meat, eggs, milk, fruit and veg will be sourced from ‘regnerative farms’, climate conscious practice that centres around protecting the soil.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Farming Today he said: ‘We need to consider that prices should go up because the value of food at the moment needs reappraising by customers.
‘Once you’ve understood the impact of the food system on climate change, on soil, on nature. [It shows] we need to go on a slow but maybe disruptive journey on informing customer about how important regenerative agriculture can be.’
James Bailey the company’s executive director has argued that the value of food needs reappraising and that customers should consider that in some case ‘prices should go up’
Kantar’s latest grocery price inflation figure is 4.5 per cent – down from 17.5 per cent last year
It comes as the supermarket giant announced that from 2035 all of its meat, eggs, milk, fruit and veg will be sourced from ‘regnerative farms’ (stock image)
Unlike organic food , which has a strict set of standards that includes no genetically modified ingredients and limits on pesticide and antibiotic use, regenerative agriculture is more of a philosophy of farming, centred around protecting the soil to improve its biodiversity and ability to store carbon.
He added: ‘If you believe the warnings on soil health, that we only have maybe 50 or 60 harvests left, if we don’t change direction.
‘Anyone who hears that statistic and understands what we are doing to the soils in the agricultural system and the impact it is having on biodiversity [is important]. [Then] regenerative is the catch all for the things we need to achieve.’
However, for shoppers this news comes after food prices have been spiked for the past few years because of global crises, such as Covid19 and the war in Ukraine.
Supermarket prices were 4.5 per cent higher than a year ago in March, according to analysts Kantar. Although this was the lowest rate since the days before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, most shoppers still are feeling the pinch.
Grocery inflation hit a peak of 17.5 per cent in March 2023, but it has fallen every month since then and dropped below 10 per cent last October.
A graph from Kantar shows supermarkets’ market share for the 12 weeks to March 17, 2024
Mr Bailey added: ‘If you believe the warnings on soil health, we only have maybe 50 or 60 harvests left, if we don’t change direction’
Despite the continued slowdown, 23 per cent of UK households identify themselves as struggling financially – the same proportion as in November last year.
On top of this supermarkets posted a 97 per cent surge in profits in April while millions struggled to put food on the table.
Bosses at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Lidl and Waitrose came under fire after evidence from the consumer champion Which? shows millions are worried about prices or have been forced to skip meals.
Post-Brexit border checks also came into force last week meaning the price of food imported from the EU will go up, retailers have warned.
Meat, dairy, plants and seeds are just some of the products which will now be subject to physical checks when imported in.
Companies have warned that the new checks will likely hit small businesses hardest and lead to price rises for customers.
The measures which are now in place were delayed previously due to concerns in the UK about fuelling the rampant cost-of-living crisis by adding more red tape to food imports.
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