Asda to test farm deliveries

Asda is to pilot a scheme under which farmers deliver fruit and vegetables direct to its stores rather than via a distribution centre.

The trial, which takes place in Cornwall, includes three farms and four Asda stores and is expected to save 6,000 road miles a month.

All the produce - which will include strawberries, cauliflowers, potatoes, cabbages, broccoli, leeks and curly kale - will be sent to one farm, where it will be packed then distributed to local stores.

At present, produce is driven 140 miles to Bristol, packed, and then sent back to Cornwall via the motorway.

The grocer said the scheme will potentially save 3 million food miles a year if it is rolled out across the UK.

Under a similar scheme started five years ago, 80 stores already receive strawberries direct from farms during the British growing season. Asda said sales of local strawberries rose 48 per cent this year as a result.

Asda will launch a Sussex local food range on September 15, with 60 products being delivered directly to five stores.

The grocer has committed to cutting its carbon emissions by 80,000 tonnes a year by next year and switched to using bio-diesel and moving more goods by rail freight.

Today, rival Tesco launched a scheme to reward its customers with extra Clubcard points for cutting down on plastic bag use, in an effort to for help the environment. It plans to cut the number of plastic bags it gives out by 25 per cent over the next two years - the equivalent of 1 billion fewer bags a year.