Developing quality in agro‐food supply chains: A Welsh perspective

Abstract

This paper describes the challenges facing the agro‐food sector in Wales as it searches for a more sustainable future than that provided by the productivist post‐war food regime. Growing concerns for food quality, coupled with the potential for wider regional spin‐offs from quality foods have highlighted the opportunities for Wales to exploit environmental quality in its food production. At present, however, Wales has a complex array of supply chains with a varying emphasis on quality. This paper compares and contrasts two models of supply chain development in Wales—mainstream meat commodity production and organic foods—for purposes of focusing questions on the development of quality agro‐food production. The paper concludes by identifying critical opportunities for and constraints upon the wider embodiment of quality in regional food supply chains.