MPs question supermarket watchdog powers

MPs have questioned whether farmers are too afraid to raise complaints about supermarkets, amid concerns that the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) may not be acting often enough to deter poor practice.

At an Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) select committee evidence session on 21 April, chairman Alistair Carmichael MP challenged whether suppliers feel able to come forward despite formal protections in place.

He pointed to a recent case involving sprout and brassica supplier W Clappison Ltd and Aldi, where the grower faced £200,000 in legal fees and potential costs running into millions after a dispute over delisting, which was later settled.

See also: UK farmers at tipping point with retailers, survey reveals

“There’s not many people in farming who’ve got the means or determination to risk that,” Mr Carmichael said.

GCA Mark White defended the code as a “gold standard” designed to prevent retailers transferring excessive risk and costs onto suppliers. He said suppliers now believe retailers comply with the code 92% of the time, according to his latest annual survey.

He added that supermarkets are banned from retrospective contract changes and unjustified delisting, and must have “genuine commercial reasons” and give reasonable notice before removing products.

Mark White © Parliament TV

Mr White confirmed he intervened in High Court proceedings in the Aldi case “to assist the court with interpretation of the Code”, adding the dispute was later settled out of court.

MPs also questioned whether the regulator has sufficient resources.

Mr White said his office operates with a £3.5m budget funded by a supermarket levy and nine staff seconded from government departments, insisting the funding was “adequate”.

Handful of cases

However, since its creation 13 years ago, the GCA has launched only a small number of formal investigations, including one into Amazon over alleged supplier payment delays.

MPs suggested the low number may reflect reluctance among farmers to escalate complaints for fear of repercussions.

Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (Asca) Richard Thompson told MPs that fear remains a barrier, but said farmers can raise concerns anonymously and that this is already happening.

The Efra inquiry into fairness and resilience in the food supply chain continues.