Farmers stage further protest over food imports

About 200 farmers have staged a protest against foreign imports of food.

A convoy of tractors and other vehicles was driven through Canterbury, Kent, on Sunday.

The farmers said they were also angry over what they have described as low prices being paid by supermarkets for their goods.

British Retail Consortium said retailers were also facing additional costs and were trying to bring down prices for customers, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said British farmers were at the "forefront" of any deals it negotiated.

The Canterbury protest follows a go-slow demonstration using tractors to blockade the port of Dover on 9 February.

The organiser of the Canterbury protest, Richard Ash, said: "It doesn't make sense to us to bus produce, with high carbon footprint, from all over the world to this country, and then not to support and look after our own farming industry."

Some bystanders applauded the convoy as it passed through the city.

One said: "I'm here to back British food and British farming, and to ensure that the government know all the supermarkets that are selling imports from Spain should be fighting to support these guys who are having a pretty rough time."

In a statement, the Defra said: “We firmly back our farmers.

"British farming is at the heart of British trade and we put agriculture at the forefront of any deals we negotiate, prioritising new export opportunities, protecting UK food standards and removing market access barriers.

“We’ve maintained the £2.4 billion annual farming budget which supports farmers to produce food profitably and sustainably and are also looking at ways to further improve fairness in the supply chain and support British farmers and growers, as well as ensuring customers have access to high-quality fresh British products.”

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at British Retail Consortium, said: “Food retailers source, and will continue to source, the vast majority of their food from the UK and know they need to pay a sustainable price to farmers.

"Given the pressure on British farmers at the moment, retailers are paying more for their produce. However, retailers are also facing additional costs and are working incredibly hard to bring down food price inflation at a time when many households are struggling to afford the essentials.”

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].