Welsh farmers to urge windfall tax on supermarkets
07 October 1998
Welsh farmers to urge windfall tax on supermarkets
By FWi staff
WELSH farmers will urge the Government to impose a windfall tax on supermarkets when Agriculture Minister Nick Brown visits Cardiff this morning (Wednesday).
Farmers Union of Wales President Bob Parry make the call during a meeting with Mr Brown and Welsh Secretary Ron Davies.
“There is a growing mountain of evidence to prove that the large supermarkets are ripping off not only farmers but also consumers,” said Mr Parry.
“We want the Government to investigate the possibility of imposing one-off windfall tax on these supermarkets in much the same way that the privatised utilities have been forced to pay up.”
Mr Parry said the money from the windfall tax should be re-invested in agriculture for the benefit of both farmers and consumers.
An ongoing investigation of the relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers is being conducted by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Two weeks ago sheep were sold at Abergavenny market for 25p each. A supermarket in the same town was selling lamb chops for £4.99/lb.
A report for the OFT by Loughborough University has already concluded that supermarket profits are three times higher in the UK than they are in the USA and Europe.
The full OFT findings are expected to be published in December.