The produce industry says it would be too expensive to force supermarkets to display on fresh food what the price they've paid to growers. The Produce Marketing Association is the umbrella group representing 3,000 growers, distributors and retail outlets.
The group's Michael Worthington says legislation proposed by federal independents Bob Katter and Nick Xenophon is well meaning but unworkable. "It's very, very difficult for supermarkets who buy from wholesalers, sometimes from packers or processors, and there's not a clear line to what those organisations paid growers."Senator Nick Xenophon has dismissed the criticism.
He says there should be a national debate on what growers are getting for their produce, because they feel squeezed by the big retailers. "This is about farmers getting a better deal and consumers getting more information, and if it puts pressure on those in the middle, the middle men in the supermarket chains, that's a good thing," he said. "I think this is part of a package of measures, a stronger enforceable Horticultural Code of Practice."