Plaid Cymru urge stores: think Welsh

Plaid Cymru’s Clwyd West candidate Llyr Huws Gruffydd is urging stores in the constituency to ensure the availability of Welsh milk on their shelves. He has expressed disappointment that the Cooperative and Somerfield are not stocking Welsh-branded milk.

Llyr Huws Gruffydd said:

“Some supermarkets sell milk clearly labelled as Welsh, but this is by no means universal. The Welsh dairy industry should be supported and I urge stores to ensure the availability of Welsh milk.

“I am particularly disappointed that the Cooperative is not stocking Welsh milk at the moment, and this applies to Somerfield, now that it is part of the Cooperative. This was clear when I called into the Somerfield store at Pensarn, Abergele, as well as the Cooperative in Ruthin, and they did not stock Welsh milk.

“I hope this is a temporary supply problem, as it is a blemish on the Coop’s record of supporting the Welsh economy, especially such a staple product. It’s essential that we support our local agriculture industry as much as possible and I believe that supermarkets have a role to play to help consumers proactively purchase Welsh milk.

“The Coop has a fine record in striving to provide Welsh produce in its stores, as well as placing great emphasis on fair trade and organic produce, but I look forward to them once more showing their support to local producers by stocking their shelves with bottles of milk bearing the Welsh flag.”

Llyr added:

“Over recent years, supermarkets have made efforts to provide beef and lamb originating from Wales on their shelves. I believe that it’s about time that they make more of an effort to do the same for Welsh milk.”

The photograph shows Llyr Huws Gruffydd at the Somerfield store at Pensarn.