Denials from major supermaket over whether they are engaged in "profiteering" and "greedflation" have been questioned by farming leaders.
Ahead of the results being published of a competition probe into the sector next week, bosses at Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) and J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) were grilled by MPs this week.
A Tesco's director said the UK market leader make only 4p profit in every pound, while second-placed Sainsbury's said it makes less than 3p in the pound, while executives from Morrisons and Asda said their profits have fallen by 50% and 25% in the past year.
Tesco, Sainsbury and other big grocers, including Asda and Morrisons have been accused of “price pegging” and operating as a “cartel” by MPs.
George Dunn, head of the Tenant Farmers’ Association, said claims of making 3p and 4p returns in the pound would not face being “tested against the reality” for producers of meat, eggs, milk, fruit and vegetables.
“The gaps between retail and farmgate prices on these products are huge and there is little more than a bit of packaging, some transport and a bit of butchery on the meat side involved in getting items onto retail shelves,” he told Farmers Weekly.
He said canned foods, household goods and processed items might be where supermarkets make lower returns, but argued that farmers should not "lose out" as these chains look to make up for this.
NFU poultry chair James Mottershead called for greater transparency and a fairer share of risk and reward in the egg industry in order to build more resilient supply chains,