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FUW Policy Officer Charlotte Priddy[/caption]
The announcement that Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket group which controls 30 percent of the UK grocery market, is to buy Booker, the UK’s largest food wholesaler and the company behind Londis and Budgens, in a £3.7bn deal, has been met with concern by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.
FUW Policy Officer Charlotte Priddy, said: “There are already well recognised concerns regarding the balance of power along the supply chain being loaded in favour of major retailers, so any moves which increase such imbalances are a great worry."
Mrs Priddy said there were also concerns the merger could have a particularly acute effect over some local supply chains where those companies were the main retailers.
The Union previously welcomed the establishment of the Groceries Code Adjudicator, which was formally established in 2013 to ensure supermarkets treat their suppliers lawfully and fairly.
“The FUW will be monitoring the situation to see what impact it could have on farmers, and we would want to see the Competition and Markets Authority consider the merger carefully.”