The government has appointed Anthony Albanese to investigate. He is former Minister of trade a competition policy in the Labor-party government.
“We have been clear — if the price for meat and fruit and vegetables is going down at the farm gate then families should be seeing cheaper prices on supermarket shelves too,” Albanese said.
Australia has a code of practice, but so far only ALDI, Coles, Woolworths and wholesaler Metcash have signed on to the voluntary code. Canada is developing a code of practice and has support from key supermarket chains such as Metro and Sobey’s, but faces oppoisition from the largest one, Loblaws., as well as suppliers to those signatories.
Those who signed on in Australia agree to bargaining in good faith, including negotiating without duress, paying suppliers on time and limiting the ability to charge for shelf space, promotions or theft recovery.
National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke said the code should be made mandatory, but that it wasn’t just supermarket dealings that concerned him.
“It’s not just supermarkets we need answers from, we need to know who else in the supply chain is clipping the ticket and sending food prices skywards,” Jochinke said.
“As the cost of farming and the cost of living go through the roof, now is the time to correct this power imbalance and improve market price transparency so it’s not being used against farmers.”
