Support to Local Farmers

Carrefour prioritises short distribution circuits, which highlights the work of producers, ensures the freshness and taste of products, while limiting fuel consumption. Today, in France, 85% of fruits and vegetables come from local producers, with a target of 95% by 2022. In France, each Carrefour hypermarket works, on average, with not less than 100 local producers. Carrefour Belgium has set up a commitment charter for local producers, ensuring the purchase of seasonal products on volumes, at fair prices, with payment within 30 days. In Spain, over 90% of fresh produce come from domestic suppliers. At the Group level, nearly 75% of Carrefour food products come from national suppliers.

Today, supermarkets already sell many products of Belgian origin, but there is an increasing demand of food produced by local farmers. Unfortunately, it is not always easy for the local farmers to find its way to the supermarkets. That is why Comeos, the Belgian retail association, developed a brochure with the aim of putting Belgian farmers and/or food business operators in touch with the supermarkets. In the brochure, farmers find the concrete steps they need to take to get their products in store. The brochure was updated in 2024.

Carrefour is the number one organic retailer in France. In keeping with its role as the retail sector’s leading supporter of organic farming, it has just announced that it is to contribute €350,000 under an agreement to revitalise the rural economy, the aim being to create new organic product lines. The Group is seeking to support farmers and give them financial support with various projects. These include switching to organic farming (which can be technically complex and costly), protecting and improving soil quality and developing new production lines.This financial help can be used in conjunction with other state support and is to be paid to all beneficiaries in the form of operating subsidies, starting in the second quarter of 2022 to fund six projects to introduce new organic product lines.

SPAR Hungary issued an extensive support program for SME suppliers, whereby 6 regional supplier centres were developed, collaboration was increased, and processes of such suppliers were enhanced. In particular, regional suppliers receive support with standardization, certification and quality management. Thus, local producers became more efficient, while at the same time SPAR stores are provided with the expected consistency and quality of products. Through this support program SPAR Hungary increases local purchasing value and creates new job opportunities in such regions.

SME food retailers offer local products as part of their product selection: local products can be found on the shelves as a result of a direct collaboration between the independent supermarket retailer and the local and regional growers. This collaboration is interesting for local producers, both in terms of sales, promotion and financial return. Besides that, this way retailers contribute to local employment, quality of life and limit the transportation impact. A distinctive and sustainable product selection is part of the Super Supermarket Certificate (SSK). The SSK Certificate is the Dutch certification for independent SME food retailers who are both locally and socially involved.

REWE Group is organised as a cooperative: Its independent retailers as well as its branches are firmly rooted in their communities and regions. They care about agriculture at the local level, which is characterised by small and medium-sized farms. Dedicated “local representatives“of REWE Group’s regional branches take care of the individual concerns of local producers. In addition, the Group established the “REWE Local Partnership”, which acknowledges this local responsibility and sets an example for the protection, preservation, and promotion of local structures. One of the core partnership principles ensures “We are supportive partners in times of crisis.” For example, REWE Group decided to pay pig farmers purchase prices for pork in line with market rates set before the outbreak of African swine fever and the collapse of export markets.

Miini Region from Coop offers more than 3200 selected regional products from local farmers and producers. The Miini Region quality label is attached to products that are produced regionally, thus securing jobs in all areas of Switzerland, and offer environmental added value due to short transport routes. The range comprises all daily food staples such as cheese, sausage, fruit and vegetables, as well as cut flowers, seedlings, herbs and plants. These are identified on the shelves with the clover symbol. All products from the Miini Region range are subject to stringent requirements and undergo a strict inspection and certification process.

METRO’s programme “Nurtured with care in Bulgaria” includes a range of 430 food products and over 300 farmers. The new operational model provides that instead of supplying stores from two logistics centers, they purchase products directly from farmers in the regions where the chain stores are located. As a result, about 200 small farmers deliver over 400 types of fruits, vegetables, and meat directly to the stores. In 2018, the sales of Bulgarian agricultural products by small farmers reached 4800 tons, and the chain became an intermediary between local farmers and the professional customers of the chain from the hotel and restaurant businesses.

Jerónimo Martins sources around 90% of its food from local suppliers, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development and support for national economies.
Launched in 2021 by Biedronka in Poland, the family farm programme focuses on direct sourcing from small local producers. The programme signed over 70 new contracts in 2024, reaching a total of 230 active partnerships. Purchases from these suppliers grew by 45% year-on-year, totalling 126 million units delivered.
In Portugal, Pingo Doce has a strategy to support national producers. In 2024, the company acquired over 14,000 tonnes of cherries, apples and kiwis. Additionally, Pingo Doce expanded its national perishables range to include vegetables, meat, and aquaculture fish. In Portugal, Pingo Doce developed a special action to market perishable products that were at risk of being wasted, given the sharp recession in the economy. Some examples were the purchases of regional cheeses, wines and fish from the suppliers most affected by the pandemic.

Kesko is actively increasing the amount of local purchases and encourages K-retailers to include products from local sources in their range. In 2020, K-retailers’ direct purchases from Finnish regions totaled €580.4 million. The ‘Thank the Producer’ operating model is one of the ways in which K Group supports Finnish agriculture. The purpose of the operating model is to increase the public’s appreciation for Finnish food and its producers. Consumer price may be slightly higher, which enables K Group to pay an additional contribution to the producers. By the end of 2020, products sold under this model had made up more than €4.8 million in additional money for farmers.

In 2017, Albert Heijn introduced the Beter voor Koe, Natuur en Boer (Better for Cow, Nature and Farmer) programme in association with Royal A-Ware for developing a closed and more transparent production chain for sustainable dairy products. At present, around 300 dairy farmers are involved in the programme. In the first years, good results were achieved in the field of animal welfare and biodiversity. For the extra efforts, dairy farmers receive a premium in addition to the milk price. Similar initiatives were recently announced for pork and fruit and vegetables. In the coming years, the bar will be raised, and dairy farmers will work on supplying climate-neutral milk. In addition, extra steps in the field of biodiversity and animal welfare will be taken.

Hofglück is a regional pork meat brand of EDEKA southwest which meets highest animal welfare standards. The producing farms are selected in cooperation with the German Animal Welfare Association and certified by independent authorities. The animals are raised in accordance with the standards of the animal welfare label Für mehr Tierschutz. This ensures that the animals get sufficient daylight, an outside moving space and fresh straw in the laying area. In addition, the animals are solely fed with genetically non-modified animal feed. With this partnership, EDEKA not only contributes to the preservation of regional agriculture, but also to the development of a more species-appropriate animal husbandry.

EDEKA is traditionally a reliable partner of the German and European agricultural sector, supporting a sustainable, fair, and consumer-friendly food production. In the southwest region of Germany alone, more than 1.500 producers and processors provide regional products such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, fresh and dry products to EDEKA’s regional brand “Unsere Heimat- echt & gut”. All these products are harvested, processed, packed, and sold regionally. Farmers benefit from an increased consumer interest in regional products and from the limited number of competitors. EDEKA has concluded long term agreements including guaranteed purchase quantities with many farmers. This ensures planning security for both sides and thus significantly contributes to the preservation of regional agriculture.

The retailer announced that it has drafted a standard contract under which each store will be able to secure supplies via short distribution channels of high-quality products – particularly very fresh fruit and vegetables, grown as close to the store as possible. Producers will be up to sell their products directly to the closest Carrefour store, without the aid of an intermediary party. Carrefour promises to list local producers as soon as they receive the contract – a simplified contract no more than two-pages long – within 48 hours. The Group also undertakes to pay them every seven days.

 In Portugal and Poland (and also in Colombia), our companies use tools like EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and a web portal for efficient invoice processing and compliance with payment terms. We’ve enhanced supplier finance arrangements to help smaller food distribution suppliers receive early payments at competitive costs, covering over 200 suppliers in each country by the end of 2024.
Our food distribution companies also offer shorter payment terms for smaller suppliers. In Poland, Biedronka reduced payment terms to a maximum of 21 days for producers with an annual turnover of less than 100 million złoty (about 24 million euros) since 2020. In 2024, around 260 suppliers benefited, 60 more than the previous year.
In Portugal, two programmes support small and medium-sized producers: one advances payments to an average of 10 days for members of the Confederation of Portuguese Farmers, benefiting around 375 suppliers since 2012; the other sets a maximum payment term of 30 days for all Portuguese certified SMEs, benefiting all Pingo Doce and Recheio’s elegible suppliers in 2024.