Late payments among issues for suppliers, survey finds

Cancelling perishable product orders at short notice, late payments, and a fear of backlash for reporting unfair trading practices (UTPs) are among the main issues suppliers encounter when dealing with grocery retailers and wholesalers.

That is according to the latest supplier survey from the agri-food regulator, which provides feedback on over 1,313 trading relationships between 485 suppliers and eight major retailers and wholesalers which are Aldi, BWG Foods, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Musgrave Group, Sysco, and Tesco.

Overall the regulator found a high level of compliance with unfair trading regulations, although one in nine respondents reported being subject to an unfair trading practice, which is down from one in seven last year.

Cancellation of orders of perishable products with less than 30 days' notice, late payment, and requiring the supplier to pay for loss or product deterioration were the most common issues faced by respondents.

Meanwhile, fear of backlash and a resulting loss of business was the leading reason for suppliers not reporting experience of UTPs.

Conducted by Red C Research, the 2026 agri-food regulator's suppliers survey also indicates increased awareness of the regulator's confidential complaints process, though it notes "there remains some uncertainty about how to engage in this process".

Niamh Lenehan, Chief Executive of the agri-food regulator, said that the research is "an important opportunity to give a voice to suppliers to help ensure the regulator better understands the realities of the current operating landscape, capturing what is working well in addition to the challenges they face.

"The survey findings include a number of positives – overall satisfaction with buyers has increased, with positive supplier experiences linked to good communication, understanding one another's business realities, and a partnership mindset.

"There has also been a percentage decrease in the number of suppliers who report having encountered a UTP."

Ms Lenehan added: "However, 11% of suppliers still report experiencing a UTP in the past year" and that "we need to ensure that all suppliers feel confident in raising a potential breach of the UT Regulations.

"Many suppliers expressed a fear of retaliation if they raised a complaint. As the regulator, we still have much work to do in reassuring suppliers of the confidential complaints process, and their rights in their trading relationships."

This is the second year of the suppliers survey and the 1,313 trading relationships assessed represents a 40% rise on the 2025 research.

Increased powers for regulator

The survey comes ahead of the agri-food regulator being granted increased powers at the end of this year to compel businesses to provide relevant market data to help it improve transparency across agri-food supply chains.

The changes will allow the independent State body to compel agri-food businesses to provide it with data around pricing, supply chains and salaries.

The regulator will also be able to issue fines for non-compliance, while an appeals mechanism for businesses will be established.

The agri-food regulator was established two years ago with the aim of providing additional insights into price and market analysis across agri-food sectors.

However, the body has repeatedly failed to get businesses to provide it with data it had requested, prompting it to ask the Department of Agriculture on multiple occasions to be granted more powers to address this.