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Supermarkets and Regional Farming

Absolutely. That is what the issue is about: paying a farm-gate price to ensure that farmers exist in the long term, and do not keel over in the short term. That is why the ombudsman, as recommended by the Competition Commission, will be responsible for investigating complaints that are levied at grocery retailers under the recently drawn up grocery supply code of practice. The ombudsman will arbitrate on disputes involving UK farmers who feel that they are not getting a fair deal from the supermarkets for their produce. The issue is also about the breakdown of the relationship between suppliers and supermarkets, because that provides no benefit to anyone. The suppliers are being forced to operate on ever-reducing profits, and the supermarkets risk pricing themselves out of achieving the aims of the local sourcing programmes that chains such as Tesco and ASDA now have in place. I welcome those programmes, but the supermarkets must not keep pushing the price down when they want to sell local produce. The ombudsman would ensure that the relations were formally maintained, with a positive outcome. We need a genuine agreement between supermarkets and producers that benefits our farming community and ensures that consumers will still benefit from competitive prices.