Paying the price

Their plight at the hands of the big chains has been well documented for years now and yet too little has been done to tackle it.

Hopes rose that a new groceries code adjudicator to regulate the supermarkets might at last be able to intervene to give farmers a better deal.

But these look like being dashed following the rejection by Ministers of a series of proposals by MPs which mean the ombudsman will not be able to launch an investigation into supermarket practices if it is handed credible evidence from whistleblowers or even trade associations.

Clearly, it is important that shoppers, as well as suppliers, get a fair deal, especially in these difficult times.

But it will be consumers who will lose out in the long term if farmers, particularly those working on a smaller scale, continue to go to the wall due to the activities of the major supermarkets.

As the National Farmers’ Union points out, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that lobbying by retailers is behind the Government’s reluctance to establish a truly effective regulatory regime.

Similar concerns were expressed last week when the Department of Health announced woeful plans to tackle obesity which could almost have been written by precisely the same big businesses selling the unhealthiest products.

Ministers published legislation early to allow MPs to pass judgment on what final form new regulations should take. But they have ignored the central recommendations, making the entire process irrelevant.

The adjudicator will be badly hampered if it is not given the powers to make it effective. Ministers must think again.