Senior executives from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose, and Lidl GB will be interrogated by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) regarding the supermarkets' influence on the food supply chain. This session aims to explore the repercussions of food price inflation on various stakeholders including supermarkets, manufacturers, suppliers, and consumers. It forms part of a broader inquiry into the equity of the food supply chain, which has previously heard from academics, food producers, and manufacturers. The focus of this fourth evidence session will extend to the dynamics between food production costs, food prices, retail pricing, and potential enhancements in the structural relationships among food producers, manufacturers, and retailers.
Questions will revolve around the retailers' profit mechanisms amidst rising food prices and strategies for equitable profit distribution within their supply chains. The inquiry will also cover how consumer interests are factored into pricing decisions. Additionally, the phenomenon of shrinkflation and its disclosure to consumers will be scrutinized, alongside the impact of supermarkets' labelling practices on consumer confidence and understanding. The session aims to shed light on the complex interplay between food production costs, retail pricing strategies, and their implications for various actors in the food supply chain.
Among the witnesses to be questioned are Dom Morrey, Commercial Director for Fresh Food, Tesco, Rhian Bartlett, Chief Food Commercial Director, Sainsbury's, Kris Comerford, Chief Commercial Officer for Food, Asda, Charlotte Di Cello, Commercial Director, Waitrose,
and Richard Bourns, Chief Commercial Officer, Lidl GB.
Source: committees.parliament.uk
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