Supermarkets under fire over 'race to bottom' vegetable price war

Farmers have slammed supermarkets over their practice of slashing the cost of vegetables to lure Christmas shoppers, saying that heavy discounting can impact consumer expectations about the real value of British produce.

Around Christmas, most supermarket giants, even upmarket chains Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, cut the price of festive basics by at least half at their busiest time of year.

The deep discounts come as the cost of producing homegrown vegetables has been pushed up with growers “already under the cosh” according to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). Workforce availability, extreme weather and rising employment costs – compounded by recent national insurance and minimum wage increases – have taken their toll on the sector.

A spokesperson for the NFU told The Guardian, “While promotional activity can have positive impacts for growers to help drive sales volumes and attract new shoppers, growers have long held concerns about the impact heavy discounting can have on consumer expectations about the real value of British produce. Growers must also be reassured that this pricing strategy is not funded by unsustainable farmgate prices.”

Jack Ward, the chief executive of the British Growers Association, said: “Is that really a cause for celebration? We are giving people a false impression of what’s involved in improving food.

“People ask ‘if I can buy it for 15p at Christmas why is it 65p the rest of the year?’ It completely devalues what are superfoods compared to a lot of other things consumed in Christmas week. There’s no denying that consumers like this kind of deep discounting but they have got to understand it comes at a cost.”

While Ward admits that retailers take the profit hit on discounting the vegetables over the festive season, he says the growers will ultimately pay in lower prices throughout the year.

“Let’s not delude ourselves, the [cost of the] promotions are factored in somewhere along the way over the 12 months.”

Some retailers agreed the discounting was not good for the industry.

One supermarket insider told The Guardian that the discount frenzy devalued the image of vegetables and that it is a "race to the bottom and no one is really benefiting. Anyone selling a bag of carrots for 17p is making a thumping loss.”