MPs are backing a move to include fair trade accreditation within the Groceries Supply Code of Practice adjudicator’s duties.
An early day motion tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Tim Curran is pushing for British growers and farmers to receive a fair trade classification to protect against exploitation from the supermarkets.
Curran has been in discussion with the Fairtrade Foundation, which declined the suggestion but believes that promoting ethical purchasing is key for future UK profitability.
He told freshinfo: “The retailers and suppliers are trying to squeeze extra from the producers - unless we are going to break up every monopoly from Tesco and the like then we need a serious and effective referee.”
The EDM is gathering pace with backing from all the major political parties.
Curran backed the Fairtrade Foundation’s work overseas claiming the UK has a “moral obligation” to dedicate 0.7 per cent of GDP in aid.
He also slammed the Rural Payments Agency, branding them an “appallingly run” organisation “hamstrung by poor management” and claimed its “obsessive box ticking” was delaying payments to producers.
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