Tesco profits do not reflect true state of British farming - Williams

Following today's announcement of record Tesco profits of £2.55 billion for the past year, Roger Williams, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Food and Rural Affairs has warned that the extreme power of supermarkets is destroying British farming.

Commenting on these latest figures, Roger said:

"These figures show the huge imbalance in the UK Groceries market. Tesco's profits are a staggering 13% higher than last year. Meanwhile, the once-thriving British faming industry is over a barrel, with many farmers struggling to make a profit. Producers, farmers and convenience stores are in decline, whilst the 'big four' supermarkets have gone from strength to strength.

"Supermarkets are raking it in by keeping prices static and passing costs on to the farmers. For every £1 consumers spend on food in supermarkets, just 8p goes to the farmer.

"The outcome of the ongoing Competition Commission inquiry into the UK groceries market has now been postponed until January 2008 because of the huge amount of information that remains to be processed. This inquiry can be made stronger by involving more testimony from farmers."