Brown gives sympathetic hearing on supermarket windfall tax
07 October 1998
Brown gives ‘sympathetic’ hearing on supermarket windfall tax
By FWi staff
WELSH farmers who today (Wednesday) demanded a windfall tax on supermarkets said they received a sympathetic hearing from Agriculture Minister Nick Brown.
Leaders of the Farmers Union of Wales met Mr Brown and Welsh Secretary Ron Davies in Cardiff this morning.
Mr Brown discussed the crisis gripping agriculture before addressing local farmers who had gathered outside the Welsh Office.
In response to calls for a windfall tax on supermarkets, Mr Brown said he would be meeting representatives from the four major retail chains in the near future.
FUW President Bob Parry said Mr Brown had promised to examine farmers claims that supermarkets are maintaining lamb prices despite a collapse of the sheep market.
“I think this is a reflection of the Government at last realising the gravity of the crisis we now face,” said Mr Parry
Sheep at Abergavenny market sold for 25p each two weeks ago. A supermarket in the same town was selling lamb chops for £4.99/lb.
An ongoing investigation of the relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers is being conducted by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
A report for the OFT by Loughborough University has already concluded that supermarket profits are three times higher in the UK than they are in the USA and Europe.
The full OFT findings are expected to be published in December.