IFA says follow UK and enact laws to curb power of big supermarkets

Ireland needs to follow Britain’s tough stance on unfair retailers and introduce a long-awaited mandatory retail code of practice, says IFA president John Bryan.

Britain has just unveiled a new ombudsman with the power to stop the UK’s 10 biggest supermarkets bullying their suppliers. Christine Tacon is empowered to impose fines and to “name and shame” supermarkets who are not treating suppliers fairly.

Mr Bryan said farmers are still waiting for legislation to curb the dominant power of the multiples. He said the appointment of Ms Tacon is an example that the Irish Government should follow.

He said: “As adjudicator, she will investigate alleged breaches of the Groceries’ Code. Crucially, Ms Tacon will have the power to fine retailers found guilty of breaching the code. This is the kind of legislation and enforcement we need to see taken in this country.”

Ms Tacon will earn £69,000 (€82,000) a year for the three-days-a-week job of ‘groceries code adjudicator’, once the creation of the post is approved by the British parliament. She is the former head of farming business with UK retailer the Co-operative. A chartered engineer, she was awarded a CBE for services to agriculture in 2004.

Ms Tacon said: “Coming from a commercial background, I am sure that if we can increase trust between retailers and their direct suppliers, it will lead to greater efficiency and can only have a beneficial impact on the rest of the supply chain.”

Mr Bryan said farmers are still waiting for legislation to curb the dominant power of the multiples.

“Despite a commitment in the programme for government and repeated promises, the Government has failed to regulate retailers. We want immediate action on this issue from Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton. This means a statutory Code of Conduct and an independent ombudsman to investigate retailers’ abuses,” he said.

Mr Bryan said such retail abuses cover not just unfair trading practices, such as ‘hello money’ and other forced contributions, but also labelling designed to mislead consumers.

IFA general secretary Bryan Barry added: “We want the code to be mandatory. Voluntary codes do not work. The UK is moving from voluntary to mandatory, and its food sector is optimistic that this will bring about real change.

“Retailers don’t want bad publicity. Just look at the IFA’s testing of pigmeat DNA to prove its country of origin. The change there has been huge, because of retailers’ fear of being caught.”