The pursuit of cheap food coupled with the buying power of the big supermarkets is putting farming livelihoods at risk, the Church of England has told the Competition Commission. Making farmers pay for supermarkets’ own promotions is just one of a number of invisible and pernicious practices.

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A campaign which started in rural Carmarthenshire to support farmers and other rural businesses under economic threat is spreading throughout churches in Wales and looks set to step over the border.

Fairtrade campaigners have expressed their alarm at the announcement by Asda Wal-Mart that it has slashed the price of loose bananas by approximately 17p per kilogram (kg) to 68p per kg.