Harper Adams groceries guru aims to tame retail giants
A governor at Shropshire's farming university was today given the power to fine supermarkets which bully their suppliers.
Christine Tacon will be able to name and shame supermarkets which take advantage of farmers and suppliers and fail to treat them fairly.
Ms Tacon, from Harper Adams University, near Newport, has been appointed as the Groceries Code Adjudicator – a new role created by the Competition Commission to hold the country's top ten supermarkets to account.
Ms Tacon, who ran the Co-operative's farming unit for 11 years, was appointed as a governor at Harper Adams last year.
She will earn £69,000 a year for the three-days-a-week job once the creation of the post is approved by Parliament.
Ms Tacon, who was chairwoman of the 2011 Oxford Farming Conference and is chairwoman of the BBC Rural Affairs Advisory Committee, said: "Being the Groceries Code Adjudicator is a significant responsibility, and I am honoured to have been given the chance to make a permanent and enduring difference to the groceries sector.
"Coming from a commercial background, I am sure that if we can increase trust between retailers and their direct suppliers, it will lead to greater efficiency and can only have a beneficial impact on the rest of the supply chain."
Dr David Llewellyn, vice-chancellor of the university in Edgmond, said: "Christine has a wealth of expertise and experience that she will be able to bring to the role.
"We are delighted that someone with a background in retail and in farming has been appointed to this important post."
Ms Tacon, who was awarded a CBE for services to agriculture in 2004, will hold the post for four years.
She will be responsible for enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, which regulates interactions betw- een the 10 largest supermarkets with an annual turnover of £1 billion each and their direct suppliers.
