Supermarkets ‘have power monopoly’

IRELAND East MEP Mairead McGuinness has challenged the European Commission to investigate the power of the retail sector, in particular its powerful grip on farmers and other food producers.

Ms McGuinness said there is a massive concentration of power in the hands of a few major supermarkets.

“European Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fisher Boel has said that in the fruit and vegetable sector supermarkets have a very strong armlock on producers.

“However, her proposal to try and strengthen the role of producer groups is not enough.

“Support for producer groups is important, but we also need to examine how the power of the supermarkets can be controlled, so that producers get a fair return for their produce.

“In an increasingly competitive marketplace producers are often simply price takers with prices often bearing no real relationship to what the consumer actually pays,” she said.

Ms McGuinness said the European Commission has unveiled specific proposals to reform the fruit and vegetable sector, including funding to promote consumption, especially among children.

“This is very welcome from the perspective of promoting a healthy diet with obesity being a rapidly increasing problem for EU citizens. Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables is critical,” she said.

“However, that is not the main issue at stake here. The question of the power of the supermarkets must be addressed,” she said.