The giant supermarket companies who intimidate suppliers need a regulator, says a report commissioned by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.
The regulations are needed to address unfair trading practices between grocery retailers and suppliers and “can make a positive difference to supply chains, particularly when enforced by a regulator,” wrote Christine Tacon who is adjudicator for this type of oversight body in the United Kingdom. She also has experience running the largest farming business in the U.K. and worked in marketing and sales for M&M Mars and Fonterra.
She said the supply chain works better when participants work together towards growth rather than spending time resolving payment and delivery issues “that could adversely affect their relationship.”
She said “suppliers need to be able to challenge their retailer customers despite imbalance in size.”
She said the Groceries Supply Code of Practice in the UK has made the market fairer and more efficient and those improvements have made the market more civil whilst still being fiercely competitive.
“Regulation in the UK is working for the supply chain,” she said.
One area of improvement is “a whole supply chain approach to forecasting” and it “pays dividends for everyone and the environment.”
The federal and provincial ministers of agriculture are looking into the precise issues her report addresses.
In the 1970s, complaints from suppliers led to a judicial inquiry into rebates, discounts and allowances the dominant supermarket chains imposed.
Nothing changed for suppliers after that inquiry.
