Retailer calls for Government to champion agricultural co-operatives

Co-op said the data showed the UK imported £5 billion of meat last year, leading to a fragile British food supply chain “exposed to global shocks”.

According to the data, poultry was the most imported protein in 2025, worth almost £2 billion. Imports from Poland and the Netherlands accounted for the largest share, including products such as chicken. Poultry imports from Thailand saw a big increase, growing by nearly 50% on the previous year.

The convenience retailer stated that the findings highlighted Britain’s increasing reliance on international supply chains for imported meats. The ongoing shockwaves from the Iran conflict have exposed the “deep interdependence and fragility” of complex supply chains that underpin our food system, said Co-op, and the critical importance of strong domestic production. It comes as food policy specialists from the National Preparedness Commission warned that the UK is not prepared to deal with the scale of shocks that could jeopardise food security.

Co-op said that one proven business model for success within agriculture is a co-operative, with recent estimates indicating that there are 526 agricultural co-operatives in the UK, generating an income of more than £9 billion.

The retailer argued that expanding agricultural co-operation is a “critical, underutilised lever” for strengthening the resilience, productivity and sustainability of the agri-food system. In response, the retailer is backing the Co-operative Party’s proposals that would grow farmer co-operation to strengthen Britain’s food system, by building its resilience, and deliver a better deal for British farming.

The Co-operative party has set out a three-pillar plan for Government to champion, enable and scale agricultural cooperatives across the food system. It focuses on how Government can support farmers to form, grow and scale co-operatives, including through its upcoming 25-year farming roadmap. 

According to the paper, there remains “substantial untapped potential” to scale and deepen collaboration across the sector, and co-operatives could offer a model for improving market power, reducing costs and enabling collective investments. Agricultural co-operatives were said to have the capacity to increase supply chain resilience, champion sustainable agriculture, facilitate innovation, harness green finance, boost horticultural production, build rural skills and create sectoral partnerships

Paul Gerrard, director of public affairs and campaigns at Co-op, commented: “The issue of supply chain resilience is upon us now and there is a clear and demonstrable benefit to the co-operative business model in agriculture. An expansion of agricultural co-operation is both an economic opportunity and a political imperative: it directly addresses the need for a more secure and sustainable food system, one less exposed to the volatility of global markets, and the instability in a rapidly changing world.

“As the largest consumer co-operative in the UK, we are clear how the model naturally lends itself to sharing costs and spreading risk, which will make the day-to-day fundamentals of farming more efficient. The untapped potential of agricultural co-operatives is an opportunity to strengthen our food system and deliver a better deal for British farming.”

Joe Fortune, leader of The Co-op Party, stated: “Co-operation is a form of strategic resilience. In a world where fertiliser supplies can be disrupted and energy costs can spike overnight, the ability to coordinate, adapt and invest collectively becomes a matter of national strategic importance. Government has the opportunity to unleash growth in this sector and use it to help secure our supply chains for the future.”