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The body which monitors trading practices between UK supermarkets and their direct suppliers would not be successful if its remit was extended to farmers, the head of the watchdog has said.
Speaking in Cookstown last week, Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon said that the UK government did not miss an opportunity earlier this year when it decided not to extend her remit further down the supply chain.
“The main thing that people want me to get involved in is getting a better share of the price. I have no remit on price,” she told an audience at CAFRE’s Loughry Campus.
The GCA only has powers to investigate and fine retailers if trading practices with suppliers do not comply with standards set out in the UK government’s groceries code.
“How many times are primary producers getting deductions that they didn’t expect, or getting penalised for not meeting forecasts, or getting charged for consumer complaints? Most bits of the code are not the issues that a dairy farmer has with their milk processor,” Tacon said.
She pointed out that as part of the UK agriculture bill, a watchdog role has been proposed for the Rural Payments Agency in England to monitor formal contracts between processors and farmers.
“Whether they have done enough work into setting it all up I would question, but that is the way Defra has been looking at it,” Tacon said.
Supermarkets
During her presentation, Tacon maintained that trading practices between retailers and their direct suppliers have improved significantly since the watchdog was established in 2013.
A survey among supermarket suppliers is conducted by the GCA each year and in 2018 delayed payments from retailers was identified as the main issue. In the survey, 19% of respondents said that they had recent experience of delayed payments, however this is down from 35% in 2014.
The GCA can investigate the trading practices of the 12 largest supermarket chains in the UK and can fine retailers up to 1% of their turnover for breaching the groceries code.
Tacon said that there have been five separate occasions where the GCA has told retailers about complaints it received from suppliers and then allowed them to rectify the issue to avoid a full investigation.
“They are absolutely desperate to ensure that I don’t investigate them and I don’t fine them. The reputational damage from an investigation is massive,” she maintained.
Positive outlook for fresh produce growers
The outlook for the local fruit and vegetable sector is largely positive, confirmed Lorcan Bourke from Bord Bia at last week’s fresh produce seminar in Loughry. During his presentation, Bourke highlighted 10 opportunities for growth. Top of his list is the fact that consumers are becoming increasingly focussed on health and wellness.
“On average we are eating three and half portions of fruit and veg a day. Two years ago, the recommendation was increased from five to seven. If we achieved that, it would double the market demand,” he said.
He also pointed out that more shoppers want to buy local, freshly harvested and sustainable produce.
“Fruit and veg is 16% of grocery spend in the Republic at present, that will only increase in the future.”
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