Queensland Premier Steven Miles to meet with supermarket bosses over pricing concerns

One state premier meet with major supermarket bosses over pricing concerns which have left farmers and households worse off.

Steven Miles has put major supermarkets on notice over the rising cost of grocery bills with the Queensland Premier set to meet with bosses on Thursday.

Mr Miles will be convening with Coles, Woolworths and Aldi on Thursday, with a meeting with Metcash – the owners of IGA – slated for next week.

He will be taking the major chains to task over why farmers and producers were being paid less in wholesale prices, despite both Coles and Woolworths reporting billion dollar profits for the 2022-23 financial year.

“I’ll be asking them to explain to me the difference between the reduction we’ve seen in the prices that farmers are getting for their produce, whereas the price of the food that Queenslanders buy to feed their families has not gone down nearly as much,” he told the Today Show.

“I want them to know that Queenslanders are looking very closely at their behaviour now.”

Queensland Premier Steven Miles will meet with supermarket bosses on Thursday. Picture: Dan Peled/ NCA NewsWire

Earlier this month, the Premier wrote to major supermarkets voicing his concerns.

In his letter he flagged while “cattle and sheep meat prices have decreased 60 to 70 per cent in the last year,” Queensland families have not received a “proportional reduction in supermarket meat prices”.

While he understood there were “various factors” in price decisions, he called on the supermarkets to “discuss this matter in more detail”.

Mr Miles’ comments come about nine months before Mr Miles will fighting for Labor to stay in government ahead of the state election in October.

Mr Miles said that while farmers were getting less for their produce, and supplies, the savings weren’t reflected in supermarket prices. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has instigated an independent review into the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, which regulates how major supermarkets regulates prices and pays farmers.

This is despite, both major supermarkets denying accusations of price gouging.

Mr Albanese also said he supported giving the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) extra powers to increase competition, which would help regulate prices.

“I think the problem for the big supermarket chains is that when people look at the prices that they’re paying off the farmers, and then look at what the prices they’re charging, is that people can see there’s a discrepancy there,” he said.

“People look at the profits the supermarkets are making, people know there is effectively a big duopoly who have considerable market power.”