Pembrokeshires food producers are being urged to compete for a slice of the county councils multi-million pound meals budget.

Few of the contracts to supply food to schools and social services establishments in Pembrokeshire are in the hands of local producers. Pembrokeshire County Council wants to change that.

The authority is to develop a strategy to encourage more local suppliers to tender, without falling foul of European Union fair competition directives. It is obliged under EU laws to advertise all its major contracts in a European trade journal.

The National Farmers Union believes smaller producers based in Pembrokeshire are put off from applying because of the size of the contracts on offer. But, as is the case with milk supplied to local primary schools, these contracts can be shared between several businesses. The county council is keen to host a forum outlining the tendering procedures to local suppliers.

Tim Johns, outgoing chairman of the Pembrokeshire NFU, recently met with senior county council officials, including its new procurement manager, Paul Ashley-Jones, to discuss this issue . Mr Johns described the meeting as constructive. There appears to be a genuine willingness on behalf of the council to work towards increasing the use of locally produced produce in the countys schools, he said. The authority will be urged to insist that successful applicants must match the high quality assurance specifications of Pembrokeshire suppliers. The NFU, says Mr Johns, fully supports the councils strategy and has agreed to help support this initiative. Haverfordwest-based Welsh Hook Meat was awarded the contract to supply meat to local authority-run homes for the elderly in Pembrokeshire after responding to a newspaper advertisement. Proprietor Emrys Davies is pleased that more companies like his will have the opportunity to win contracts. I think it is more important for the authority to consider the place of origin and quality of food products than the price, particularly when it is being fed to children and elderly people, he said.