If the profits that farmers make were doubled, it would have very little impact on the prices that consumers pay for food, a committee of MPs investigating fairness in the food supply chain has been told.

Speaking in Westminster on Tuesday, Vicki Hird cited research from food charity Sustain, which found a cereal grower typically only makes 0.09p of profit from a loaf of bread sold in a supermarket.

Hird, who is strategic lead on agriculture at the Wildlife Trust, said doubling this to 0.18p “wouldn’t make a big difference” to consumers.

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“The problem is it would make a big difference to the retailer, or manufacturer, or baker in between if they were to take the hit. Although we would argue quite a lot of them are still making quite hefty profits,” she said.

In her evidence to MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee, Hird argued there should be “more transparency” about the profit margins that are made in the food supply chain, as the current system means farmers are “price takers”.

“The farm business income survey tells the retailers precisely what your costs are as farmers, but we don’t have a food business survey. Why is this exposure so much skewed towards farmers, and not the rest of the supply chain?” she said.