The Oxford Farming Conference 2024 marks its opening today with the launch of its report “Is Our UK Food Supply Chain Broken?”.

The Oxford Farming Conference is the leading international conference held in the UK for farming and agribusiness.

The report is written by Ged Futter, who has three decades of experience in the sector (including as a senior buyer for the world’s largest grocery retailer company), and who now works with suppliers to advise them on their relationships with supermarkets and on their rights under Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP or “the Groceries Code”).

The report is based on interviews with those working in the sector, and provides an all-angles insiders’ insight into the breaking point faced by those working to put food on our supermarkets’ shelves.

HF is sponsor of the report, and one of the sponsors of the Oxford Farming Conference 2024.

 

Harry Wells, Associate Partner in our Dispute Resolution team:

“Why are we involved? Because we are a proud supporter of businesses in the UK food supply sector.
We specialise in acting for farmers and grocery suppliers. As one of the prominent law firms in the industry, we work with farmers, grocery suppliers and other food producers to successfully resolve their disputes (often with supermarkets), including in Groceries Code arbitrations before the GCA.
We have joined forces with the report’s author, Ged Futter, to help a number of food suppliers that were facing a fight for their survival because of the issues raised in the report. We know first-hand the need for change and the important role that forums like the Oxford Farming Conference and the report play in this.
We’re looking forward to joining the discussion with suppliers and others in the industry at the conference”.

 

Ged Futter, author of the report:

“For too many years the approaches of some Retailers has led us to a point where there is more risk in the UK food supply than ever before. The short-term thinking has put added strain on an already pressurised system. When this is combined with Farmers / Growers / Suppliers who don’t know how to leverage GSCOP to level the playing field we have a system that needs to change. Relatively simple changes can be made, the most important one of which is better collaboration”.

 

More information on GSCOP and how it can be used to level the playing field can be found here, or by contacting Harry Wells or John Lord.

Groceries Code