The NFU has said it is pleased that the government had shown common sense in its announcement that supermarket chain WM Morrison has been cleared to bid for Safeway.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has announced that she has accepted the conclusions of the Competition Commission (CC) that the proposed acquisition by Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco may all be expected to operate against the public interest.
The NFU was opposed to any takeover of Safeway that resulted in a duopoly with any of the existing big retail players.
In evidence to the CC earlier this year, NFU head of marketing Robin Tapper said the interests of both consumers and farmers were best served by a broad-based food retail industry, not one where two companies account for 50 per cent of the food retail market.
Tapper said: "We're glad to see that a considered approach has been taken on the question of further consolidation in the retail sector.
"Farmers will not be thrilled about the prospect of further concentration of retail power in the food chain. However, the potential loss of Safeway needs to be seen in the context of the corporate philosophy of Morrison's.
"The chain has a good understanding of British agriculture and a strong commitment to regional and local sourcing of product as well as operating its own processing and packing capacity for red meat and fresh produce.
"The NFU has a strong working relationship with all the major food retailers and will continue to work closely with them in the future. If Morrison's decide to proceed, the NFU looks forward to continuing this relationship to derive better returns to farmers and further develop their UK sourcing policy."
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