ABSTRACT

According to popular opinion, UK agri-business is dominated by the large grocery multiples. Consequently, it is generally argued that UK agribusiness is controlled by the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Safeway and ASDA. It is believed that the power of these firms runs bi-directionally, taking in both customers and suppliers. Certainly, by the standards of food retailing in the rest of the industrialised world, returns for the UK’s supermarkets are relatively high.