Yes, it's another whinge, so let me apologize to my fan club.

We are at risk of loosing our farmers, much of which has been caused by the duloporly of the big two retailers.

Now while there are many pressures on modern day farmers, it's these big two that have caused most of the damage, as not only do they often dictate the price, but they have also squashed most of the small produce retailers (competition) and, they have been allowed to do this via support from successive state and federal governments, with the likes of extended trading hours, something that small business simply can't compete with.

Of cause, with these small retailers all but gone, gone too are the alternative markets for farmers to sell to, something that the big two have banked on for a decade or more.

Now the problem is, farming, like most modern businesses, need to increase throughput to maintain cash flow, a result of increased costs and reduced margins.

Something else that suits the big two.

No doubt, farmers will join the increasing list of bail outs as jobs are being slashed everywhere you turn and it will be us, the tax payers who will suffer. But can that cash cow )our tax base)survive.

rehctub,

I happen to agree with you on this one.

I support small business, and Australia, like most advanced consumer societies, has allowed this duopoly to take over. I sat slightly gobsmacked when they were allowed into the fuel sphere as well, and watched as many of the service stations closed down around town so that the two bullies could take over - the same thing that's happened to delis.

A point of interest: IGA has been a supermarket alternative to the big two, but they are now attempting to get into the pub and pokie game, which is a bit "off".
Don't spose you'd care to sign the petition?
http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/pokies-reform/iga/iga-keep-serving-the-community-say-no-to-profits-from-pokies?referring_service=twitter

Maybe that has something to do with direct selling to supermarkets, instead of going through the market system. By going direct, the supermarkets have them where they want them.
They're bying at one price, but charging at market prices. So the farmers have got themselves to blame.

Poirot, I will gladly sign a petition as I am dead against the way these companies spread their wings, I'm talking about all, not just IGA.

Wollies have not long moved in to Chincilla, a small country town on the western downs region of QLD.

Slowly but surely they are stamping their mark and winning over the locals, with the small IGA, just around the corner being a scalp for them.

The other one, while trying very hard, must be feeling the pinch.

579, you make a valid point, however, these agents have for years been the leaches of this industry, dictating terms and making a killing for little effort, as they have simply been the go betweens.

The direct selling was largely brought about by Wollies and Coles, rather than by the farmers themselves.

So much so, that one had to wait for the whole family to die before getting a stall.

Don't spose you'd care to sign the petition?

Done!

Me too!

Our governments need to work together to tackle the utter dominance of the big two retailers.

It's too late for retail to be saved, as the up coming generations don't want to own a small business, however, if these guys continue to expand, unchecked, many sectors will be trashed by them.

But, like anything, it is the power of the people that could bring them down, but let's face it, it has simply become to convenient for most of us to shop with these retailers.

rechtub,
I'm completely with you on this one.
In the UK there was a parliamentary inquiry a few years back when Tesco and Carifours reached 50% market share between them.
The current situation in Australia is utterly outrageous, and while it may appear that consumers are benefiting in the short term, they sure will pay down the track.
Same with petrol. When the independents are all gone, does anybody really think that secret, minuteless meetings won't occur in hotel rooms between reps of the big two to sort out petrol pricing?
Of course such meetings will happen.
And a great many other prices will be fixed as well. It's incredibly easy to do when there are only two player and incredibly difficult to prove. Especially when the big two's lobbyists are all over Canberra.
This isn't a partisan issue either, as both the Coalition and Labor have failed utterly on this issue.
In their ruthless pursuit of profits, Coles and Woolworths would be completely indifferent if they destroyed agriculture in Australia.
Meanwhile, they are engaged in a land grab by frantically opening up new supermarkets to stake out territory in an endless monopoly game.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

PS
Two more points.
1. I'd happily sign a petition. And I would love to see Getup take this one on in a big way as well.
2. I think this will probably be one of the shortest threads so far, as I don't expect there will be any one who would disagree with rechtub's initial proposition.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

The postion is made worse when the farmers are pushed to the wall,
they can be further screwed by having to compete with food imports.

That then is the ultimate. Except for products that cannot stand long
transport times, we will only have imports if it continues down the current track.

Ultimately food imports must end due to transport costs, but it will
probably be some years before oil depletion and price rises stop
air freight of food. Shipping will become too expensive as the public
will not be able to afford it.

By then all the farmers will have walked off and their sons will
have other careers. Only Chinese owned farms with Chinese work visas
will be producing food for export, guess where !

I call it the "Harvard MBA Disease ". The design of open borders for people ( labour ) and goods. This design which is only adhered to by stupid countries like Australia, means the decimation of farming and manufacturing jobs. It is being promoted by the financial/economic sectors at the expense of the longterm health of the Nation.

We need to bring back tariffs and protection for our farmers , along with an emphasis for a "point of difference" by encouraging the growth of organic farming and conversion of "chemical farms" to organic.

Cheers,

Ralph

The big two are just too smart by half.

The government imposed restrictions on them when advertising specials, so, they simply took another tact like, buy a carton of coke, and receive 4c per Lt off your fuel.

Another tact is thier land grab.

You see, there is only so much commercial land available, so, the big two, especially Wollies, grab as much as they can, which reduced the options for the competition.

Now there is quite an esy solution, tha being one wollies/Coles per 100,000 people.

But governments simply won't, or can't, act.

I remember phoning the local council one day, complaining about the seventh Wollies opening in my shire, which had a population less than 150,000.

They said, nothing could be done as they (council) only dealt with town planning.

We ( governmentS) have let them take over petrol, grog, pokies, what's next.

Of cause they acted on predatory pricing, but too little too late and, with the likes of the milk/ coke promo, they were out smarted.

Our small retailers can no longer compete.

Extended trading hours has also hurt, as the big two could afford to stay open, as they simp,y cut back on night stokers, however, small retailers can't compete, as their AH sales don't usually cover wages and, they get charged extra rent by the greedy land lords.

The government can still act, but must do so right now.

They simply have to outlaw cross business advertising, ie, no petrol discount vouchers etc.

But you can bet that what every they come up with, they will simply be out smarted.

About the only hope we have is that as oil gets dearer, sea freight
will push import costs above local costs.
It will take some years, but it will happen.

It has already started with furniture and steel products between the
US and China.
It appears to have happened here already with furniture.

As growth dies and we go into contraction other pressures may change
internationally that will remove imports.

Another problem is that many decisions that greatly effect our economy are made in boardrooms located in other countries.
American boards couldn't care less about Australia's ability to support itself.
They care about profits, profits, and... Oh, that's right, profits.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.a