An inquiry into supermarket profits and price setting practices has been given the go-ahead in parliament this week, with supermarket bosses saying they'll fully collaborate with the select committee.
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The Greens-introduced motion was unopposed in the Senate, despite calls by the Nationals to entrust the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with an inquiry instead.
Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey said they would still work with the committee to see what changes could be made.
"We all know that the cost of living is going up and it is timely to investigate whether the concentration of market power in our supermarket sector is a contributing factor," Ms Davey said.
"We welcome this inquiry and will be taking the opportunity to examine pricing practices, as we know the price paid to farmers is not increasing in line with the price consumers are paying."
The committee will focus on issues around market concentration, opportunistic mark-ups and false discounts, as well as the effects of home brand products, automation and regulatory frameworks.
The inquiry is already accepting submissions from the public, with a final report set to be delivered by May 7.
Both Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci and Coles CEO Leah Weckert have confirmed they will appear before the inquiry next year and said they acknowledge the cost-of-living pressures facing Australians.
It comes as the National Farmers' Federation hosted a roundtable in Canberra on Thursday and renewed calls for price transparency along the agricultural supply chain.
Farmer representatives met with Assistant Competition Minister Andrew Leigh to discuss competition reform and ongoing reviews, raising suggestions such as mandatory price disclosures and improving ACCC resourcing.
NFF chief executive Tony Mahar said the roundtable was an opportunity to build some momentum as the supermarkets come under scrutiny.
"Our members are increasingly frustrated by the imbalance in market power between small family farming businesses, and the large corporates that dominate Australia's food supply chain," Mr Mahar said.
"What we heard is farmers are fed up with the lack of transparency, and worried about the continued consolidation of our supply chains.
"We're encouraged by the Government's response to these issues so far, but we know reform is hard, so we need to make sure we're seeing meaningful changes to give farmers a fair go."
