MPs launch probe into fairness of UK food supply chain

MPs have launched an inquiry to determine whether some players in the UK food supply chain are ‘unjustly’ benefiting from rising food prices.

The extensive farm-to-fork survey by the cross-party Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) comes as shoppers are experiencing the highest supermarket inflation since the 1970s.

MPs will investigate whether risks and profits are distributed fairly among farmers, food producers, other suppliers and supermarkets.

They will also examine the impact of external factors such as imported food and rising global commodity prices.

Sir Robert Goodwill MP, chair of the EFRA committee, said: ‘In these times of high food price inflation, when many people struggle to provide their families with good food at a reasonable price, our role as a committee is to get to the bottom of to find out. of what’s going on.

“We know that consumers are paying higher prices, but the question is, are other parts of the supply chain unfairly benefiting, or are some of them also feeling the pressure?”

MPs will examine the relationship between food production costs and consumer prices, and examine the profit margins of farmers, food producers and other suppliers.

They will also look at the market power of supermarkets compared to other players in the UK food supply chain, and how this compares to the situation in other advanced economies.

In addition, it will assess whether current regulatory standards are appropriate.

UK food and drink prices rose 19.2 percent in March, the highest food price increase in 46 years, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

food inflation was slightly lower in April at 17.3 percent, according to Kantar data, and prices for some of the products that have risen most, such as milk, butter and bread, have even started to fall.

This week Sainsbury’s cut the price of some of its bread and butter products, with the supermarket saying the cuts will not affect the rates it pays farmers, and fellow grocers Tesco, Aldi and Lidl followed suit.

But the Bank of England said it expected headline inflation – which remained above 10 percent in March – to fall more slowly than it had hoped, mainly due to unexpectedly large and sustained increases in food prices.

Supermarkets have been accused of using high energy costs to pass on even bigger price increases to shoppers, but they deny that they would benefit more than necessary from rising prices.

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy received a salary package of £4.4 million for the past year

Britain’s largest grocer, Tesco, made a profit of £1bn last year, half the £2bn a year earlier, after higher costs squeezed margins.

The CEO, Ken Murphy, received a £4.4 million pay package for the past year, according to the supermarket’s annual report released today.

Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at Interactive Investor, said: “While there’s nothing wrong with supermarkets and grocery stores turning a profit, it’s not okay to exploit customers in one of the most challenging economic conditions for personal finance in generations. .

“If the farm-to-fork study shows that profit is the thing, it would be a bitter pill to swallow for many shoppers who are forced to make huge sacrifices, such as forgoing meals, to keep up with rising prices. ‘

The EFRA committee has no power to change legislation, but will issue a report with recommendations after it has received evidence from industry, experts and consumers. Deadline for submission of views is July 29.