Canada’s federal politicians may soon have to decide if they want to make a grocery industry code of practice mandatory because there are holdouts – Walmart and Costco and Loblaws, the largest in Canada, saying it will only support a code if all competitors agree.
Australian Dairy Farmers president Ben Bennett said “a mandatory code promises significant benefits for dairy farmers by ensuring fairer trading practices and enhancing protections within grocery supply chains.
“This shift from a voluntary to a mandatory code ensures that all major supermarkets must adhere to the code, creating a level playing field for all suppliers.”
“Additionally, it is crucial that the government gets the interaction between the strengthened Food and Grocery Code of Conduct and the existing Mandatory Dairy Code of Conduct right,” he said.
“These protections will help dairy farmers report unfair practices without fear of retribution, promoting a more transparent and equitable market environment.
“The combined effect of these codes will help enhance market transparency, ensuring dairy farmers receive fair treatment and fostering trust between suppliers, wholesalers and retailers,” he said.
Canadian dairy farmers are free from threats by the big supermarkets because they have supply management marketing boards, but the same is not true for other farmers, and in particular those producing fresh fruits and vegetables.
Supermarket pressures on them prompted a judicial inquiry in Ontario in the 1970s, led by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
Nothing came of it.
