The head of the Agri-Food Regulator is “concerned” by the level of unfair trading practices reported by suppliers in the industry, following the authority’s inaugural supplier survey.
The survey, which focused on compliance with the unfair trading regulations and general trading issues, found that the biggest issue facing suppliers was cost increases at inflation, with 70 per cent of respondents citing the problem.
“Costs are continuing to rise and we are struggling to keep pace with these cost increases,” one supplier said.
Retailer and buyer challenges (24 per cent), raw material and ingredient availability (22 per cent), and labour market and wage pressures (18 per cent) were also cited frequently by suppliers as the issues facing the industry.
While Agri-Food Regulator chief executive Niamh Lenehan said there is “a lot to be positive about” within the survey’s findings, she said, “I am concerned that 14 per cent of respondents reported experiences that they characterised as unfair trading practices.”
“In particular, it is concerning that some suppliers reported that they may not raise a potential breach of [Unfair Trade] Regulations with either their buyer or with the regulator itself.”
The most common issues faced by suppliers were being forced to pay for loss or product deterioration and delayed payments.
Respondents noted fears that the buyer would “retaliate in the future” if they reported unfair trade practices, and concerns they could be “blacklisted”.
Ms Lenehan said less than half of respondents were aware that the regulator has a confidential complaint process, which she said indicates it has “a significant amount of work to do”.
The chief executive said the results of the survey will inform its work going forward and will be used in the “development of guidelines for buyers and the conducting of further risk-based inspections with respect to compliance with unfair trading law”.
