Supermarket profits will be in the spotlight of a Senate inquiry next year, but Australia's peak farming body says it must only be the start of a push to make pricing strategies clear for both consumers and producers.
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A parliamentary committee is set to examine a swathe of concerns, such as market concentration, price gouging, and the integrity of discounts, as well as the flow-on effects at the farmgate and the checkout.
In response, the National Farmers' Federation has released an issues paper on market price transparency, detailing its ideas to make the system fairer for farmers.
NFF president David Jochinke said farmers are fed up with being left in the dark.
"For decades we've seen our supply chains gradually tighten to the point where we're now one of the most tightly consolidated supply chains on the planet," Mr Jochinke said.
"Many farmers have only one customer to buy their products, and only a handful of places to buy their inputs. That puts not just farmers, but consumers, at a huge disadvantage.
"There's no transparency. We can see what people pay at the checkout, and we know what we're getting at the farm gate - but who clips the ticket in the middle is hidden from view."
The issues paper suggests making it mandatory for businesses in the agricultural supply chain to report and disclose information around prices and how they're determined, as well as giving the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) more power to access data.
Price reporting platforms, improved whistleblower protections and increasing the uptake of collective bargaining are also on the agenda.
Both Coles and Woolworths have reported profits of more than $1 billion in the latest financial year, but an NFF survey in September found the market power of supermarkets and processors was the number one concern for farmers.
Mr Jochinke said the government inquiry would be an opportunity to tackle the issues head-on.
"We've seen this slow creep of consolidation take hold of our supply chains and we're now in this really precarious position. We need to make sure the rules are there to level the playing field because it's currently tilted heavily against the farmer," Mr Jochinke said.
"We know this is an issue that farmers and everyday Australians care about. People don't want to be ripped off at the checkout, and they don't want the farmer to be ripped off either."
The Greens, who are expected to lead the review with Labor's support, say the parliamentary committee will be a step toward undoing the market duopoly and keeping essential goods affordable.
But Nationals leader David Littleproud has called for an inquiry led by the ACCC in place of the Senate investigation, arguing it could have been launched before Christmas.
