The Farmers' Union of Wales today welcomed the publication of a draft bill for a Groceries Market Ombudsman following years of lobbying.
"Over the last decade the FUW has consistently argued that the Westminster Government should take the necessary action to redress the imbalance in the powers held by primary producers, processors and retailers," said FUW president Gareth Vaughan.
"We will be scrutinising the bill over the coming days and weeks, and urge Parliament to do the same at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure that no more undue delays occur in terms of this long overdue and much needed legislation.
"Our priority will be to ensure that the final legislation is robust enough to properly enforce the supermarket Code of Conduct and that farmers are able to complain without fear that their names will be passed on to retailers, resulting in retribution and blacklisting.
"The legislation must also ensure that penalties reflect the dominance of these companies over the food supply chain and the huge sums of money that abuses of power allow them to make," added Mr Vaughan.
Earlier this month the FUW urged the Westminster Government to appoint a Grocery Market Ombudsman without delay in a bid to end unfair market practices.
In a letter to Defra Secretary of State Caroline Spelman the union pointed out that it has been almost five years since the Office of Fair Trading authorised an initial investigation by the Competition Commission which published its final report in 2008.
"We have urged the new Government to remain committed to the establishment of a grocery adjudicator with sufficient powers to address the concerns raised by the Competition Commission and are naturally pleased with the publication of the draft bill.
"In 2010 the Grocery Market Ombudsman Bill brought forward by Ynys Môn MP Albert Owen received cross party support and presented an ideal opportunity to take forward the establishment of a supermarket Ombudsman," added Mr Vaughan.
"The initial report found that the buying power of grocery retailers and intermediaries is influencing farm profitability and drew attention to the risks this could pose for the future of the UK agriculture industry.
"We believe that a good relationship between retailers and suppliers in the grocery market is important and that its suppliers and retailers will benefit greatly of an independent body to monitor and regulate the sector," said Mr Vaughan.