Last week, ABC’s Four Corners program aired an episode entitled ‘Super Power’ in which the tactics of these two corporate giants were discussed.

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Among the issues raised was the effect on the profitability of farming.

One Nambucca Valley blueberry grower, who wished to remain anonymous, told News Of The Area that large supermarkets determine the price of his produce, which drives down profits for individual farmers.

“We send our berries to Driscolls and they take ten percent, then the supermarkets, you know Woolies and Coles, decide how much we get and they make their profits too,” he said.

“Soon all that will be left (in the blueberry industry) are the big corporation-owned farms,” he explained of the phenomenon which squeezes the returns of small farming businesses until they cannot afford to stay in the industry.

According to the National Farmers Federation, recent findings by AUSVEG suggest 34 percent of farmers surveyed nationally were considering exiting the industry within twelve months.

Long time dairy farmer Dave McKay thinks that many in his industry did it tough when Woolworths and Coles brought in their “dollar-a-litre” milk policy in 2011.

“They kept this price on their branded milk for a decade,” he said.

“The effect was to reduce the value of branded milk products.

“There is no doubt they lowered the price of milk,” Mr McKay maintained.

Despite this both Mr McKay and Alan Noble, a dairy farmer from South Arm, told NOTA that “things are pretty good now” and that Norco, which acts as an intermediary between retailers and farmers, is doing a good job stabilising milk prices for the few remaining dairy farmers in the Valley.

“Back in the 60s I reckon there were about 360 dairy farms on the Nambucca,” Mr McKay told NOTA, “but there are about six or seven operating here now.”

One other major issue affecting regional areas when large players enter the retail sector is that local small businesses selling similar products are unable to compete on price or convenience.

It is tempting for shoppers to do all their weekly shopping in one place and the large supermarkets are quick to bring in products that locals need.

According to one pharmacy worker in a small Macksville store, “We try to think of new things that they (Woolworths) don’t stock but then the next week, they sell it in Woolworths.

“They don’t seem to be able to think for themselves so they copy off us,” she told News Of The Area.

Currently there are still a few small supermarkets operating outside the Woolworths chain in the Nambucca Valley.

In Nambucca Heads and Bowraville, IGA has stores while in Macksville’s Wallace Street, the Nambucca River Co-op, with roots in the community going back over a century, runs a FoodWorks.

Amanda Murphy is one loyal customer of the FoodWorks in Macksville.

“I do all my shopping here.

“I don’t set foot in Woolworths unless I have to,” she emphatically told NOTA.

“The produce is fresh and I know that Matt (the manager) always supports local farmers,” she explained.

“Besides, three of my children used to work here.”

Other customers exiting the store told NOTA various reasons for shopping there, mainly centred around the store’s location or that it stocked products which were not carried by Woolworths.

By Ned COWIE