Supermarkets to face further probe over pricing

Major supermarkets will face a Queensland parliamentary inquiry into the gap between the cost of groceries and what farmers are being paid for their produce.

Premier Steven Miles announced the inquiry on Friday, following meetings with Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.

‘They were good meetings and they were concerned about the concerns that I was raising with them,” he said.

“They all agreed to participate in that parliamentary inquiry.”

Tweet from @StevenJMiles

Miles later tweeted a picture of watermelon he said a farmer was selling at a roadside stall.

“A Queensland farmer is selling this seven-kilogram watermelon by the side of the road for $10, because he can’t afford to sell it for the $4 he was offered by the supermarkets,” he said.

“At the checkout, people are paying close to $20.”

Miles followed up with: “Queensland farmers and families struggling to put food on the table can tell their stories. Because people deserve a fair go.”

Supermarket chains have come under scrutiny after delivering large profits, while consumers struggle with cost-of-living pressures.

Miles said detailed scrutiny of supermarket chains was “fitting” for the kinds of concerns the government had heard from farmers and consumers.

“Transparency and scrutiny is a key first step in both addressing the way our farmers are treated as well as delivering cheaper groceries for Queensland families,” he said.

Ahead of meeting supermarket bosses on Thursday, Miles said he hoped to get answers about the discrepancy between what farmers said they were getting for their produce and what consumers were paying at the checkout.

He said some stories from farmers were “harrowing” and no one should be treated the way some had been.

“These are important people, they our families, they work hard every day and I don’t want to see them walking off their farms because the land is more valuable than what they can get for their produce and because they’ve been treated poorly by supermarkets,” he told ABC TV.

The terms of reference for the new inquiry are yet to be finalised. A committee, to be formed in the first sitting week of Queensland parliament, will run it.

The Queensland probe is in addition to a federal inquiry into the grocery code of conduct. The review, led by former Labor minister Craig Emerson, will report to the government this year.

One of its key issues will be whether to toughen the voluntary code by making it mandatory.

Miles has welcomed the federal review, saying he believes the code should be mandatory.

-with AAP