Ombudsman not likely for 2011 - Kendall

He told disappointed Brecon and Radnor union members at their annual meeting that the proposal, which could help ordinary farmers take on the might of large retailers, has been ‘kicked’ into 2012.

“We have been calling for many years for an Ombudsman to be appointed to make sure individual farmers that have contracts to supply large retailers are treated fairly,” he said.

“The appointment of such a position has been on a bit of roller coaster ride but the current Coalition Government is in agreement that one is necessary.

“Unsurprisingly, however, there has been a huge amount of lobbying recently by the large retailers who naturally would prefer to deal with individuals rather than third party organisations such as the NFU.”

As a result it looked as though the proposal was not going to get off the ground until 2012 with ‘name and shame’ being the proposed way of tackling retailers who went back on contracts or did not give suppliers a fair deal.

He said he would rather see the large retailers to be fined rather than named and shamed.

“I believe it should be a case of hitting them where it will hurt - their profit margins.”

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