Northern Ireland MP warns on Asda price pledge
Supermarket price war could hit farmers
A Northern Ireland MP has warned that a price war between Asda and Tesco in the province would be bad for local farmers.
William McCrea MP said it was important that Wal-Mart owned supermarket chain Asda understood the importance of agriculture to the Northern Irish economy.
Asda announced this week that it is buying 12 Safeway stores in the province from Morrisons. Asda has pledged that prices in its Northern Ireland stores for any goods will be no higher than those found on the Great British mainland.
Tesco has responded by repeating its local price promise which means it will not be beaten on price and will match any local competitor.
McCrea told the[i] Belfast Telegraph [/i]newspaper: “It causes me great concern when Asda make a commitment that their prices within Northern Ireland will be no higher than prices for goods within their stores in GB. The last thing Northern Ireland farmers need is a price war between the major supermarket giants that will drive down farm gate prices even further.
“Farmers need to be reassured that Asda will not only give a commitment to buy goods from local farmers but also give a fair price for the goods they purchase.”
