SRC slams food price cap proposal as food prices soar
THE Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has slammed the Scottish Government’s proposals on the Food Price Cap as no details have been revealed on the policy.
The policy was first introduced six months ago as part of SNP’s election manifesto and the SRC has claimed that no details on the matter have been explained.
David Lonsdale, director at the SRC, said: “It’s six months since the food price cap proposal was first unveiled and we’re still none the wiser on the most rudimentary detail. We still don’t know which fifty products Ministers want in scope, what the prices would be, how prices would be set and on what basis, how long price controls would last for, and who would monitor and enforce all of this.”
The SRC has echoed previous sentiments found across the sector with many industry leaders calling for the food price cap to be scrapped altogether. Many industry heads have warned that, while the cap may set out to target supermarkets, it could inadvertently impact on the convenience sector and force many smaller stores to close their doors.
The SNP has pushed ahead with a consumer consultation on the matter, which is set to close on 24 November, to gather views on how the proposal should be shaped and how it could impact on members of the public.
Though, Lonsdale has pointed out that lack of clarity involved in this consultation and has said that it would not be likely that this food cap would be introduced by the end of the year.
He said: “What we do know is that we have the most affordable grocery prices in western Europe; that price caps would be fiendishly complex to implement and have unintended consequences for shoppers and suppliers; and that Mr Swinney’s desire to see price caps in place by the turn of the year won’t happen.
“Whilst government has wasted time and effort over recent months on this ill-conceived idea retailers have striven to keep prices down in the face of rising cost supply chain and statutory cost pressures. Price caps are the wrong solution to food price inflation.
“Instead, Ministers should ditch the price cap, get behind our hyper-competitive grocery market, and work with us to reduce the cost burdens retailers and food producers face.”
