The UK Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) has reported a fall in the number of suppliers engaging with the GCA over the past year though there is a greater awareness and willingness to engage if there was a need.

Tesco, who are the biggest retailer in the UK have most complaints against them and are subject of an investigation by the adjudicator.

There were mixed views at the conference both among the speakers and from the floor in the lively debate sessions. The GCA accepted that her powers were limited and the best use of her office was in effecting behavioural and attitude change among retailers while the opposite view was offered by David Sables from Sentinel Management Consultants who trains supermarket suppliers in the art of negotiation. His view was that the code wasn’t particularly effective after the event but if used cleverly in the negotiation process, could be more effective.

The event attracted approximately 150 delegates from the supply chain and wider stakeholders. The Ulster Farmers Union from Northern Ireland was represented by its Chief Executive, Wesley Aston. It was emphasised at several times over the course of the day that the GCA didn’t deal with the issue of prices paid to farmers, only with direct suppliers. Wesley Aston, in recognising this limitation of the GCA role, spoke during debate to encourage direct suppliers to engage with the GCA through providing evidence where they believed there was a case to answer.