Why is beef bashing its biggest customer: supermarket inquiry split

Citing everything from supermarket grids being consistently higher than saleyard prices to political whitewashing, a number of respected industry people have questioned the value of current inquiries into retail prices of beef and lamb.

The Senate inquiry into supermarket prices has also attracted numerous submissions from livestock producers telling a very different story to that of being ripped off.

Family-owned grassfed Western Australia business Metcalfe Pastoral, which has supplied Woolworths for more than 25 years, said there had been times in the past few years when Woolworths pricing was $400 a head above the saleyard price.

Well-known Glen Innes stock agents Colin Say and Co said supermarket prices were not only consistently competitive but Woolworths were generous sponsors of youth and beef events.

During the cattle market crash late last year, when saleyard prices were as low as $1.50/kg, Woolworths remained at $5.20/kg carcass weight, agent Nathan Purvis said.

Big Victorian lamb producer Charles de Fegely, Ararat, sees his supermarket contract as the key to his future.

"It would be tragic to have any government intervention in controlling prices," he said.

"It is not a given right to have product on the supermarket shelf and the more we can do to ensure it stays there, the greater the viability for our business."

Owner operator of Frampton Flat Feedlot, at Tullibigeal in Central NSW, Darren Frankel said his contracts were for three months in advance and there was always open consultation before signing each one.

These submissions are all in contrast to calls from groups like the National Farmers' Federation and NSW Farmers for more scrutiny on pricing strategies employed by the major supermarkets.

The NFF wants a suite of measures to 'level the playing field' for farmers, including mandatory price reporting and disclosure in the supply chain, price reporting platforms and mandatory codes of conduct.

Complaints from producers that lower livestock prices were slow to be reflected at the checkout were also widespread, and loud, last year when the cattle market bottomed.

Beef exporting stalwart Richard Rains said it made no sense for an industry to "beat up its biggest customer."

"As much as 25 per cent of our production is consumed at home - no export market takes that much of our beef and the majority of it is sold through supermarkets," he said.

"What can the possible outcome of inquiries like this be other than to get our biggest customer offside? What other industry does that? Do you see Dunlop sticking it up Toyota?

"And if we think there is not enough supermarket competition now, is it likely more regulation and inquiries like this will encourage other global groups to come to Australia?"

Retail and consumer behaviour expert Professor Gary Mortimer, from the Queensland University of Technology, said there was a very interesting narrative coming out of the livestock sector on the supermarket reform agenda, which was not evident with other sectors like horticulture.

He said there was a strong argument the government's agenda was somewhat of a smokescreen.

"It means politicians can say they are addressing the cost of living pressures," he said.