How the supermarkets came to own UK agriculture

[Nitrams]

Have heard the supermarkets have forced packers etc to have an open book basically dictating profit levels to %of turnover.
Essentially farming by stealth. This is what the grocery adjudicator should be looking into.

 

[Henarar]

What do you want them to do ?
Nothing personal; addressed to everyone on here. These threads moaning about the supermarkets come along on here regular as clockwork. To what end ? Does anyone want to do anything about it ? Or is it just a pointless whinge fest ?

best thing to do is blow them up

 

[Hilly]

best thing to do is blow them up

Super market or the scabs ?

 

[Henarar]

Super market or the scabs ?

the supermarkets
do you see a problem with that plan

 

[Hilly]

the supermarkets
do you see a problem with that plan

Yes they are great they sell Most of what we produce and population like shopping in them , it’s the farmers that get to close to them that’s the problem not the super markets.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Have heard the supermarkets have forced packers etc to have an open book basically dictating profit levels to %of turnover.
Essentially farming by stealth. This is what the grocery adjudicator should be looking into.

They did.
And for keeping quiet she got to be chairman of Red Tractor.

[edited so as not to exercise the TFF legal dept. to say I am sure I recall hearing that this practice was referred to the adjudicator but I can't find any outcome]

 

[glasshouse]

They did.
And for keeping quiet she got to be chairman of Red Tractor.

Corruption is what the uk runs on.
Nfu chief gets a gong to keep them on message

 

[glasshouse]

Keep your mouth shut, sell your members out , and move on up to the next cushy job.
Speak out and they crush you.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Keep your mouth shut, sell your members out , and move on up to the next cushy job.
Speak out and they crush you.

I'm not sure they could be bothered to put any effort in.
They simply don't care.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Published 23 June 2020
From:Groceries Code Adjudicator

A competitive groceries sector with stronger and more effective communication between retailers and their direct suppliers is the legacy of seven years of successful regulation, the outgoing Groceries Code Adjudicator says today.
In her end-of-term report Christine Tacon, the UK’s first GCA highlights the impact of her work and how the sector has changed since the Groceries Supply Code of Practice was introduced 10 years ago.

We have seen an increase, not a decrease, in competition in the sector as three more retailers have exceeded £1 billion turnover of groceries and been designated by the Competition and Markets Authority,” she says in the foreword to the 2019/2020 Annual Report and Accounts.
Furthermore, fresh produce suppliers have been growing in size and are confident under the protection of the Code to work closely and on longer contracts with retailers.
And there is stronger and more effective communication between retailers and suppliers; this is a significant change, the value of which has been apparent in the current Coronavirus crisis and the resultant need to maintain very efficient supply chains.
Suppliers feel more able to challenge the retailers to get the best joint solutions – no longer is the response “how high?” when the retailers ask them to jump.

Ms Tacon added:

I came into this role because I wanted to make a difference and I believe the evidence shows I have.
I will leave the GCA in the knowledge that by working with the sector, I have shifted the regulated retailers from practice-based compliance to enduring culture change, driving effective compliance risk management at all levels in every regulated business. This should ensure that breaches don’t happen and that if they do, they are quickly picked up and put right.

The Annual Report and Accounts for 2019/20 is Ms Tacon’s final report as GCA as she announced a year ago she would step down after her second term in office ends in June. However she is staying on for a short period to provide continuity and consistency in dealing with issues that may arise from changes to supply arrangements during the early stages of the COVID-19 emergency.
In the report the GCA points to other significant positives.

The original 10 regulated retailers are now exemplars among businesses for paying on time. The Duty to Report on Payment Practices and Performance results submitted to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy cover all invoices, not just groceries, so are only a guide.
These 10 retailers notably paid between 93%-100% of all their invoices on time, whereas only 13% of all the suppliers to those retailers achieved the same level of prompt payment.
Working between retailers and suppliers has become more efficient. For example the business practices implemented in response to inconsistencies arising as a result of drop and drive have eliminated masses of paperwork as well as reducing time wasted on challenges.
Consumers have benefitted from an increase in innovative products on the supermarket shelves, created by a growing number of speciality suppliers which the retailers are welcoming to increase differentiation.
“I believe my success has come from the unique way I established of working with the retailers.  I have taken a collaborative approach which should also be at the heart of healthy supplier-retailer relationships.
Over the past seven years I have had more than 300 meetings with retailers’ Code Compliance Officers to take up issues I was hearing from suppliers and ensure retailers were making progress in putting things right."

As you can see from the text highlighted in orange, she doesn't understand or chooses to ignore the very issue that is highlighted by this thread. She actually thinks concentrating production to a few suppliers on long contracts is a positive.

She is not at Red tractor to help farmers.


And the
"Suppliers feel more able to challenge the retailers to get the best joint solutions – no longer is the response “how high?” when the retailers ask them to jump. "

Is quite hilarious as she sets out the various fiery hoops for those caught in her protection racket.

 

[Woolless]

Big business is indulged and subsidised by government at every turn. Subsidy allows farmers to produce food below COP, so bigger margins for supermarkets. Tax credits so crap wages can be paid. Banks bailed out etc etc.

 

[Hilly]

Big business is indulged and subsidised by government at every turn. Subsidy allows farmers to produce food below COP, so bigger margins for supermarkets. Tax credits so crap wages can be paid. Banks bailed out etc etc.

Cant go on for ever , can it ?

 

[delilah]

the supermarkets
do you see a problem with that plan

No problem at all, metaphorically, to blow up the supermarkets.

Yes they are great they sell Most of what we produce and population like shopping in them , it’s the farmers that get to close to them that’s the problem not the super markets.

Market share can be drastically reversed without the population having to change their habits, without them noticing. Until folks get their heads round that, it's going nowhere.

Have heard the supermarkets have forced packers etc to have an open book basically dictating profit levels to %of turnover.
Essentially farming by stealth. This is what the grocery adjudicator should be looking into.

The adjudicator is part of the veneer of competition, that is all.

 

[Smith31]

Why is it always the supermarkets , wholesalers, abattoirs, importers consumers etc etc fault?

If second and third generation immigrant families can work hard and create multi billion pound food businesses, then why can't farmers?

The harsh reality is farmers will often help neighbouring farmers but beyond that it's every man for him self, life is not fair and non of us are owed a living.

 

[delilah]

Why is it always the supermarkets , wholesalers, abattoirs, importers consumers etc etc fault?

If second and third generation immigrant families can work hard and create multi billion pound food businesses, then why can't farmers?

The harsh reality is farmers will often help neighbouring farmers but beyond that it's every man for him self, life is not fair and non of us are owed a living.

Because we are talking about the primary producer.
We can create a multi billion pound farm tomorrow, no problem. That is the direction of travel we are on. The point is, you wont then need a farming forum, because the vast majority on here will be out of a job.
Now, there may be arguments in favour of that. But I can think of many many more against it.

 

[Smith31]

Because we are talking about the primary producer.
We can create a multi billion pound farm tomorrow, no problem. That is the direction of travel we are on. The point is, you wont then need a farming forum, because the vast majority on here will be out of a job.
Now, there may be arguments in favour of that. But I can think of many many more against it.

We are no different to small hardware shops which have had to close as a result of Screwfix etc, economies of scale at play.

How many of us use a horse and cart?, farming itself has moved on.

 

[delilah]

We are no different to small hardware shops which have had to close as a result of Screwfix etc, economies of scale at play.

How many of us use a horse and cart?, farming itself has moved on.

If you want to put forward a model for 10 farming businesses, supplying 10 processors, who supply 10 retailers, then fine, no problem. We can discuss the environmental, social and economic implications of that.
My grouch is with these continual threads that moan about market share but no-one wants to do anything about it.

 

[Henarar]

If you want to put forward a model for 10 farming businesses, supplying 10 processors, who supply 10 retailers, then fine, no problem. We can discuss the environmental, social and economic implications of that.
My grouch is with these continual threads that moan about market share but no-one wants to do anything about it.

I did make a suggestion

 

[Dealer]

If farmers spent just 1% of the subsidies they have recieved since it started on super market shares then they would own them and be able to choose the head man to run it in their interests, you only need 51% of any company to call the shots.

They would also have had a share of the profits and a nest egg to sell if they wanted.

Could have easily of been done via a farmers pension fund.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

If you want to put forward a model for 10 farming businesses, supplying 10 processors, who supply 10 retailers, then fine, no problem. We can discuss the environmental, social and economic implications of that.
My grouch is with these continual threads that moan about market share but no-one wants to do anything about it.

Fair to a point.
The main gripe is that those are are supposed to look after the interests of the farmer such as the NFU, Red tractor, the Grocers code adjudicator and to an extent, Defra, are the very ones doing the dirty work for the supermarkets.
That is quite something for a group of farmers let alone an individual, to take on.