Andy Clarke, Chief Operating Officer, ASDA Stores Ltd
ASDA is committed to Scotland. It is a vital market for us. We now employ over 19,000 colleagues in Scotland and we plan to invest more than £260 million in Scotland, creating a further 3,500 new jobs in Scotland over the next 5 years. That growth offers real opportunities for the Scottish food industry.
We are ambitious for local food sourcing. That's why we now have our own local sourcing manager for Scotland and a team of local buyers who are focussed on building this area of our business. ASDA is the only national supermarket to offer a network of dedicated local sourcing 'hubs' so small and micro suppliers can deliver local produce directly to the hub for onward delivery to our stores. In 2008 we launched our Scottish hub in partnership with Taylors Regional Foods and have since expanded it allowing a significant increase in our locally sourced lines.
In 2009 we are targeting a 47 per cent increase in year-on-year sales. We are on track to meet that ambition. In addition to the work of the local sourcing team, ASDA sources significant amounts of Scottish food on a cross UK chain basis - for example 70 per cent of our pork is Scottish. In the last year this has included sales of £72 million of Scotch beef, £7 million of Scotch lamb, £65 million of Scotch pork, £14 million for Scottish eggs, £34 million for Scottish cheese, and £33.5 million for Scottish milk.
This success demonstrates the continued desire from Scottish customers to buy local Scottish products which offer quality and value and it is on that basis that we welcome the opportunity to work the Scottish Government to grow this market.