Following the news that Tesco had breached the UK’s Groceries Supply Code of Practice, director of Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII), Paul Kelly has called for the urgent publication of Irish grocery regulations.
According to FDII, the Irish food industry has been campaigning for the introduction of such legislation for some time, hoping to protect suppliers from the same practices that the UK Groceries Code Adjudicator highlighted as key concerns in its report on the British retailer.
The GCA’s report showed instances of unilateral deductions from suppliers as well as payment delays, which it found were in serious breach of the UK’s Code.
"The UK ruling highlights the very real and unfair practices that suppliers can face when dealing with large, powerful retailers," said Kelly.
He noted that previously promised reforms and new regulations have not yet been delivered, meaning that Ireland is now lagging behind the UK, which introduced its Grocery Code in 2010 and the GCA in 2013.
"The Minister for Enterprise should now publish long delayed regulations and ensure a fairer trading environment throughout the grocery supply chain," he said.
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
