The National Party’s proposal to break up Foodstuffs is aimed at consumers, not the growers who supply the country’s food.

“We’re really all about seeing more transparency and visibility of the supply chain,” says John Murphy, chairman of Vegetables New Zealand, director of the New Zealand Vegetable Council and a Marlborough vegetable grower.

“And this proposal doesn’t really speak to that.”

Margins are already too slim and the risk growers carry is not reflected across the supply chain.

“The bad years are pretty lean, and I don’t necessarily see that across the supply chain.”

Consumers are still getting good buying at the checkout, Murphy says.

“Inflation across vegetables has been very low across the last 20 years, and hasn’t kept up with general inflation.”

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.

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