British Retail Consortium director general Kevin Hawkins said supermarkets were blameless for the problems in the dairy sector, which he suggested were down to farmers’ ‘failure to keep pace’ with the times.

He was responding to the competition watchdog’s announcement that it was to carry out further investigations into milk chain profitability as a result of concerns raised in the first eight months of its grocery inquiry.

In the report published on Tuesday outlining ‘emerging thinking’ on the investigation, the commission said the main focus from now on would be competition between retailers at local level.

It said the investigation had not uncovered evidence of ‘widespread problems in the supply chain’ and that manufacturers, processors, and wholesalers, seemed to be in ‘good shape’.

However, the commission said it did have concerns about farmers, particularly in the dairy sector, where it accused supermarkets of failing to pass on price increases.

Source: Farmers Guardian