by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
A Grocery Supply Code of Practice which came into force on Thursday, February 4, 2010, must be properly enforced by an ombudsman to stop the bullying tactics of supermarkets towards suppliers, says Friends of Earth.
Those bullying tactics were being employed on the eve of this Code of Practice becoming active in that supermarkets, with, it would appear from sources, Tesco in the lead, were trying to force suppliers, and here especially farmers, to slash the prices by up to 15%. No farmer can stay in business like that.
The Code of Practice is designed to promote fairer dealing between supermarkets and their suppliers, and prohibit the biggest food retailers from unfair buying practices, such as retrospectively changing terms of trade.
But the green campaigning charity said that without a tough enforcement body to monitor and ensure compliance by the major retailers, the Code of Practice will fail to protect farmers and other suppliers.
The Government began a 12-week consultation on the Friday, February 5, 2010) to determine how an ombudsman will operate and, if the happenings before are anything to go by and the previous record of the British governments then the farmer will be squeezed more and more.
Not that that bothers some of those retailers, including the British Retail Consortium, who have said that they can always import foods and do not need the British farmers.
Friends of the Earth's food campaigner Helen Rimmer said: "The new Code of Practice is a welcome step – it has the potential to stop supermarkets from abusing farmers, suppliers and ultimately consumers.
"But without a tough watchdog to police it, the new Code will fail just like the previous one.
"The Government must urgently establish an independent watchdog that can investigate the supply chain, guarantee farmers' anonymity and impose fines on supermarkets that are breaching the Code.
"Proper enforcement of the Code will ensure a fairer deal for farmers, workers, and shoppers alike – both in the UK and abroad."
Friends of the Earth has led the campaign for a supermarkets ombudsman since 2004. In January 2010 the Government finally formally backed the creation of the new role in line with the recommendations of the Competition Commission.
However, as Helen Rimmer of Friends of the Earth said, unless the ombudsman actually is going to have real sharp teeth then this is nothing but eye candy and a waste of time.
© 2010
