PLENTIFUL volumes of Scottish and UK lamb are currently available in Scottish supermarkets, according to NFU Scotland's biggest ever 'shelf watch' campaign.

Of the major retailers, only ASDA was found wanting when union members and staff visited almost 60 Scottish supermarkets to identify which retailers are supporting Scottish sheep farmers during peak season.

Over the past week, these secret shoppers counted and checked more than 3000 packs of lamb on shop shelves, to see which were Scottish or UK-produced – and which were imports.

This demonstrated that 51% of the lamb currently available is branded as Scotch Lamb PGI – up from 45% at this time last year – with an additional 42% labelled as British – down from 44%.

Around 7% of lamb found on shelves this year came from New Zealand, with the majority of this product – 217 of the 220 imported packs of lamb recorded – found in ASDA stores. NFUS described this as 'deeply disappointing' given that all the other major retailers had chosen to source Scottish and British lamb and, in Aldi and Lidl stores, lamb stocks were found to be 100% Scotch Lamb PGI.

NFUS livestock committee chairman Jimmy Ireland said: “These shelf watch results show that support for Scottish lamb producers is growing stronger, providing confidence to the sector at a time of great uncertainty.

“However, ASDA, once again, is way off the mark compared to competitors – no Scottish lamb on the shelves and one-third of its stocks imported. NFUS will raise this issue directly with ASDA in the coming days.

“That is the one low point in a survey that showed rising support for Scottish lamb and the Scotch Lamb PGI – a trend that we will encourage all stores to continue. Shoppers who are looking to buy Scottish lamb, to support local farmers and the rural economy, are also encouraged to visit their local butchers, who are often strong supporters of Scotch Lamb PGI.

“To build on this excellent platform, NFUS is looking forward to the launch of Quality Meat Scotland’s new promotional campaign for Scotch Lamb PGI, Scotch Lamb Naturally, at the end of September, with Love Lamb Week running from September 1 to 7," he added.

“With Brexit on the horizon and the possibility of a ‘no deal’ departure from the European Union threatening our exports of lamb to the European Union, these results are encouraging as it is vitally important that we see Scottish shoppers and retailers supporting domestic food production.”