Planet Retail 16 Aug 2010

Walmart has been forced to create a unique business model in India due to its immature supply chain, India's Business Standard reports. The supermarket chain, whose supply chain is known for its efficiency, awards marks out of 100 to all suppliers. Whereas in other countries most suppliers score around 95, in India the average is a mere 60 points.

Farmers Guardian 3 August 2010

THE Government has announced groundbreaking plans to create a supermarket ‘adjudicator' to investigate and solve supply disputes between farmers, suppliers and supermarkets.

Freshinfo 18 Jul 10

New legislation is needed to ensure fair returns to farmers and growers and transparent prices to consumers, by enforcing fair competition throughout the food supply chain, an agriculture committee of MEPs said recently.

FoodandDrinkEurope 21-May-2010

The UK's new coalition government said it intends to increase regulatory oversight of the nation's grocery sector, under policy plans unveiled in a 34-page programme document released yesterday.

The Liberal-Conservative coalition government said it would cut regulation for small businesses and farmers, but increase regulatory oversight of the grocery sector, and appoint an ombudsman to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

Planet Retail 20 May 2010

The major food retailers in France, including Carrefour, Auchan and Leclerc have agreed to exercise margin restraint during periods of crisis in fruit and vegetable production, following talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy, Just-Food reported. The agreement stipulates that that in time of "proven market crisis", when the price paid to producers is significantly inferior to the average of previous years, retailers will not increase their gross margin on the product in question.

Planet Retail 7 May 2010

During Carrefour's annual general meeting, CEO Lars Olofsson has announced that the company is seeking to expand in fast-growing emerging markets India and China. Olofsson added that the retailer may exit other countries where it is not a leading retailer so it can strengthen its position in the ones in which it is stronger. Olofsson also said that the retailer was looking for partners in India and China, while no details were given about the names. There has been speculation that Carrefour is going to enter India with Pantaloon.

Independent.ie  4 April 2010  

POWERFUL supermarkets such as Tesco are behaving like characters in 'The Sopranos' by "extorting" huge sums of money from Irish suppliers to stock their goods, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said yesterday. Mr Gilmore said this was badly affecting suppliers, including farmers, who could not get their produce on to the shelves of major supermarkets. Mr Gilmore said he was not opposed to the existence of large supermarket chains that had economies of scale to give consumers cheaper prices, but this ceased to be sustainable "when it begins to suck the life out of farm families and villages".

The Packer 02/25/2010

Middlemen can play a big part in promoting sustainability in the food system, said Richard Schneiders, recently retired chief executive officer of Houston-based Sysco Corporation.

Planet Retail 9 Feb 2010

Wal-Mart's Indian operation, Bharti Wal-Mart, is working with 116 private label suppliers in India, focusing on small local suppliers. In an interview with Images Retail, Bharti Wal-Mart Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Arti Singh, said: "In India, we are working with about 116 private brand suppliers, 70% of whom are SMEs. We are a strong supporter of SMEs as a sustainable business model and this is in keeping with our philosophy of 'Saving Money to Live Better'."

Planet Retail 20 Jan 2010

Bharti Wal-Mart has reportedly opened its first Agricultural Co-operative Centre in Sirhind, Punjab. The centre aims to build an aggregating, handling, packaging and delivering system of fresh produce to Best Price and Bharti Retail's EasyDay stores. This initiative is part of Bharti Wal-Mart's Direct Farm Programme in partnership with 100 small and marginal farmers near Ludhiana, Punjab. The farmers will be paid for their produce within 24 hours post delivery. All legalities including APMC tax will be fully complied with.