Supermarket price war threatens farmers
British agriculture on the brink as stores prepare to do battle in newly consolidated marketplace, says government's farming adviser. A new £1bn supermarket price war could shatter the fragile recovery of the British farming industry, the government's farming tsar, Sir Don Curry, has warned. Sir Don told the Guardian that he was "deeply concerned" that prices were being cut on the high street "without serious thought being given to the impact on the supply chain". He said there was no more slack for farmers to take up. "The pips are really squeaking. The outcome could be that the British industry has great difficulty in competing with imported goods made with lower wages and lower standards," Sir Don said.
"I'm not sure that is what the consumer really wants. This is not so much about an offering to consumers - it's more about market share." Sir Don chaired the policy commission on food and farming that issued its report to the government in 2002, and is now charged with implementing the government's reforms.