Big supermarkets add 577 stores

London: Britain’s big four supermarkets have had at least 577 new stores approved in the past two years, the BBC reported, citing research carried out for a BBC Panorama TV programme last night.

Tesco had 392 outlets approved, followed by J Sainsbury with 111, Morrisons with 41 and Asda with 33.

Farmers for Action, a campaign group, voiced concern that competitive discounting, and the way supermarket companies trade with food producers, will eventually “put British agriculture out of business,” the BBC said.