Fear and a lack of time and money are putting suppliers off from talking to the Competition Commission, despite repeated pleas from industry bodies, according to one fresh produce distributor.
The supplier, who asked to remain anonymous, told FPJ: “People are too scared to put their head above the parapet and even if they did there is no guarantee that it would be taken seriously. It becomes very expensive and time-consuming and these things drag on for ages. We have other priorities to focus on.”
Leading ready meal supplier Northern Foods has similarly passed up the opportunity to submit a complaint, saying “The focus of the inquiry is based around the premise that supermarkets are driving local stores out of business, supported by the planning regime… We do not believe this is an issue we can contribute to.”
However, according to NFU Scotland, this could be the last opportunity for years to address the concerns of the food industry over supermarket behaviour and it urges them to come forward with evidence of foul play.
NFUS president John Kinnaird said: “Asking suppliers to submit evidence to this inquiry is not something I do lightly. However, with the evidence to act on, there is a real chance that this inquiry could deliver meaningful solutions to ensure the abuse of supermarket power, where it exists, is tackled.”
NFUS believes demands for lump-sum payments to keep or secure business and expecting suppliers to pick up the cost of supermarket promotions are abuses of power.
A spokeswoman for NFUS told FPJ: “The commission has guaranteed suppliers anonymity but the problem is, even if a submission says, ‘a pea producer from Fife said x, y and z’, the industry is pretty small and if the commission wanted to find out who that producer was it wouldn’t be too difficult.
“However, while we understand their fears, it does make it difficult for us to make claims of bullying by supermarkets, which we hear about all the time, without the written evidence to back it up,” she said.
“Ideally we would like to hear from someone who has already gone out of business who in a sense has nothing to lose by speaking out. But we haven’t found one yet.”
