‘Groceries code adjudicator will be low impact’
The introduction of a Groceries Code Adjudicator will not have much impact on the way the supply chain operates, says a high level retail and consumer adviser.
Christine Cross, chief retail and consumer adviser at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a former Tesco director, said that she was not sure the adjudicator needed to make an impact, because “pretty frank discussions” were already going on between the industry and retailers.
However, there was a need for transparency and there was a role for government to promote an “open book” approach to pricing in supply relationships which would allow mutual discovery of costs in the chain, said Ms Cross.
The key for farmers and growers was to organise collaboration between supply groups at a level which would allow them to call the bluff of customers.
“Most retailers have an open book policy with their own label suppliers,” said Ms Cross, who expected retail food prices for some basics including bread to rise after Christmas.
“The top four or five retailers are really locking horns to get market share – no-one is going to relent before Christmas,” she said, adding that retailers had absorbed some raw material price increases thus far.