The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Scotland has reiterated its desire for an independent supermarket ombudsman, following reports that suppliers are being mistreated.
NFU Scotland has long campaigned for the introduction of a supermarket ombudsman and the Competition Commission recommended the appointment of one in April 2008 to oversee relationships between retailers and their suppliers.
However, some of the UK’s biggest retailers are putting up resistance to the move and an appointment is yet to be made.
NFU Scotland is demanding that the fundamentals underlying retailer and supplier relationships change to ensure that all businesses within the chain have the opportunity to be sustainable in the long term.
Jim McLaren, NFU Scotland president, said: “Supermarket abuse and the difficulties suppliers face in complaining about mistreatment is not a new problem. For the past five years, NFU Scotland has campaigned for an ombudsman.”
“In the meantime, the retailers, both through the media and in direct communication with their consumers and suppliers, have been dressing up their supply chain relationships, highlighting them as wonderful, mutually beneficial partnerships. In reality, relationships are all too often one-sided, the retailers hold all the power and suppliers are squeezed to within an inch of their economic lives.
“What we want is a move away from loose ‘gentleman’s’ agreements which allow the supermarkets total control over their suppliers, to proper contracts that allow sustainable profit margins for everyone within the supply chain,” he added.
