On Tuesday (23 January) the CC published an “emerging thinking document” outlining the issues it has so far considered in its investigation of the retail sector, and where it plans to focus attention in the next stage.
Peter Freeman, chairman of the CC and inquiry group chairman said: “We have considered the evidence supplied concerning relationships between grocery retailers and tier suppliers.
"Whilst these haven’t indicated widespread problems in the supply chain, there are still concerns. We have found that bigger buyers do not always appear to get better terms from suppliers, and food and drink manufacturers and processors, as well as wholesalers, seem to be in reasonable shape.
“However, we have some concerns about farmers and we have not received as much specific evidence about unfair treatment of suppliers as we might have expected. There may well be many more examples out there but we need to hear them otherwise we would have difficulty coming to a conclusion.
Source: Farmers Weekly