Irish regulations urgently needed in light of UK grocery code breach, says FDII
UK Groceries Adjudicator's findings throw Ireland's lack of similar legislation into the limelight once again
Print26 January 2016
Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII) has called for the urgent publication of long-delayed Irish grocery regulations, following revelations in Britain earlier today that Tesco breached the UK’s legally-binding Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
The Irish food industry has been campaigning for the introduction of legislation here to protect suppliers from the very practices that the UK Groceries Code Adjudicator highlighted as key concerns, FDII points out. These include unilateral deductions from suppliers and payment delays, according to the association. The UK adjudicator found that breaches of the code were of a serious nature, due to the varying and widespread nature of the payment delays.
“The UK ruling highlights the very real and unfair practices that suppliers can face when dealing with large, powerful retailers,” FDII director Paul Kelly said. “Reform and new regulations have been promised, but have not yet been delivered. Ireland is now lagging far behind the UK, which introduced the Grocery Code in 2010 and the Grocery Code Adjudicator in 2013. The Minister for Enterprise should now publish long-delayed regulations and ensure a fairer trading environment throughout the grocery supply chain,” Kelly added.
Related Articles
Retail Ireland Skillnet launches apprenticeship programme →
Fans 0
Followers