Archived press release

Supermarket Code: Shoppers back rules to protect British farmers

17 March 2006

New figures out today (Fri 17 March) show that four out of five adults want new rules put in place to protect farmers in their dealings with the big supermarkets, and that nearly two thirds think that British farmers are not being paid enough for the food they produce.

The NOP poll released today by Friends of the Earth marks the fourth anniversary of the Supermarket Code of Practice. The Code was introduced in 2002 to ensure that supermarkets treat their suppliers fairly - but is widely believed to have failed [1].

Friends of the Earth commissioned the survey on behalf of the Breaking the Armlock Alliance, a group set up to campaign for a stronger statutory Code. The alliance is a diverse range of organizations including environmental organisations, farmers and the Women's Institutes [2].

Friends of the Earth's Supermarkets Campaigner Sandra Bell said:

"This is a clear message to the Government that the British public does care about farmers and that they want action to stop them being bullied by the big supermarkets. It seems that shoppers understand better than the Government that it's hard for farmers to produce high quality food and protect the environment if they are being constantly squeezed on price. Campaigners have been telling the Government and the Office of Fair Trading for the last four years that the weak Supermarket Code of Practice is not working - perhaps now they will listen".

The survey, carried out by GfK NOP Consumer Omnibus, involved a telephone survey of 1000 adults aged 15+. The results are:

Generally speaking do you think British farmers get a fair price for the food they supply to big supermarkets?

Yes 16%
No 65%
Don't Know 20%

And, would you favour or oppose the Government bringing in rules that protect farmers in their dealings with supermarkets?

Favour 81%
Oppose 10%
Don't Know 9%

Last week a report from the Office of Fair Trading proposed a new Competition Commission investigation into supermarkets - however it does not address the issue of how farmers are treated.

The Breaking the Armlock Alliance would welcome the Competition Commission's involvement in addressing the issue but warns that if it takes years to find a solution many more farmers will leave the land, and many more local independent shops and the wholesalers who supply them will go to the wall. A stronger Code put on a statutory basis could be implemented quickly and would go a long way towards ensuring fair treatment of suppliers

The Alliance also wants an independent retail regulator to be appointed to oversee the working of the Code - a demand that has recently been backed by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Small Shops.[3]

Friends of the Earth is concerned that as British farmers are squeezed more and more on price it will be harder for them to farm in a way which benefits the environment, for example many dairy farmers have been forced to intensify their production leading to more pollution. Other farmers will go out of business. The more farmers Britain loses the more food we have to import over large distances causing environmental pollution. There are also concerns that price pressure on organic farmers has discouraged farmers from converting to organic [4]

Notes

• GfK NOP Consumer Omnibus interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1000 adults aged 15+ during the dates 10th - 12th March 2006. Data was weighted in order to bring it in line with national profiles.

[1] The Supermarket Code of Practice was introduced in 2002 following the last Competition Commission investigation into supermarkets which reported in 2000. This found that the biggest supermarkets engaged in unfair trading practices with their suppliers and that this threatened choice and quality of goods to consumers. Although the Competition Commission recommended a tightly worded Code this was watered down and the version that was agreed by the supermarkets in 2002 was so vague that it is of little value. Time and time again farmers and other suppliers have told the competition authorities that the Code does not work but when the Office of Fair Trading carried out a review of the Code it failed to take any action to strengthen it. A key problem is that suppliers are too fearful of the big supermarkets to identify themselves so the OFT says it has not got clear enough evidence of the Code not working.

[2] The Breaking the Armlock Alliance is: Bananalink, British Independent Fruit Growers Association, FARM, Farmers for Action, Farmers' Link, Farmers' Union of Wales, Friends of the Earth, Grassroots Action for Food and Farming, IIED, National Federation of Women's Institutes, nef (New Economics Foundation), Pesticide Action Network UK, Soil Association, Small and Family Farms Alliance, Wyecycle.

[3] The All-Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group published its report `High Street Britain: 2015 in January 2006. One of its key recommendations is to "Establish a Retail Regulator" which would have a wide remit to investigate the grocery market and bring forward proposals which would maintain a vibrant, diverse and sustainable retail sector.

[4] Soil Association – response to Office of Fair Trading consultation on Supermarket Code.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust