Doyle calls for fair deal for grocery suppliers and producers

€14 Billion Grocery Trade in Ireland Needs Fair Pricing Code and FG
proposed Irish Office of Fair Trading

Fine Gael Food Spokesperson Deputy Andrew Doyle has slammed the absence of a Grocery Supplies Code of Practice for giant supermarkets in Ireland and said it highlighted the need for an enhanced agency to enforce such a code, like the Irish Office of Fair Trading proposed by Fine Gael.

“The grocery market in Ireland, worth from €8-€14 billion, is dominated by six companies, some of whom have abused their power in the market place to unfairly profit on the backs of Irish suppliers. Stories are legion of suppliers who are afraid to go public because of the repercussions of being de-listed. Some examples are ‘hello money’, reneging on contracts, ‘loss leader fees’ and other unfair trade practices.

“The Irish grocery trade is a like the Wild West at the moment and it is time we got a sheriff.

“We urgently need a code of conduct and an enhanced agency to enforce it. Fine Gael has proposed the merger of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency into a new beefed up ‘Irish Office of Fair Trading’.

“The Irish Office of Fair Trading could:

• Bring in a code of practice for the sector;
• Enforce the code of practice;
• Ensure that large retailers are required to provide data on sales and profits in the Irish market like for every other business so that people can know who is making the real margins in the grocery sector.

“The Grocery Supply Code of Conduct has already been introduced in Britain where there is major concern about the unfair treatment of suppliers and the unfair competition for local groceries. But Irish suppliers are being left to fend for themselves, squeezed between rising business costs and the ever increasing demands of powerful retailers. Government and the Competition Authority need to do their part to support fair trade and open transparent competition so that everyone gets a fair deal and the consumer gets choice and value. If they fail to act we will shortly see thousands of job losses in the Irish food production and processing sectors at a time when the nation can ill afford to lose them.