Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food's oral contribution to the Food and farming in Devon and Cornwall Westminster Hall Debate on 23 February 2022, under what circumstances his Department would refer a business in the pork supply chain to the Competition and Markets Authority.
Answer
The Government is committed to tackling the unfairness that can exist in the agri-food supply chain. Powers in the Agriculture Act allow us to introduce statutory codes of conduct which increase the transparency of business relationships and protect farmers from imbalanced commercial terms.
In the coming months we are launching a public consultation exploring how fairness and transparency can be improved in the pork sector. As part of this consultation process, we will gather evidence about market consolidation in the sector. If the consultation response indicates consolidation may be having an adverse effect on competition in the pork sector, these concerns could be raised with the Competition and Markets Authority.
The Government will continue to work closely with the pork sector to discuss any supply chain issues and any regulations will be developed alongside industry with the close involvement of stakeholders.