Supermarkets must stop squeezing their suppliers, Margaret Beckett has warned.

Addressing the annual conference of the National Farmers Union in Birmingham, the environment secretary said that the Office of Fair Trading was looking into the interaction between supermarkets and farmers, and that she was "very aware" of concerns that the present voluntary code of practice was not working.

"I can assure you that the government will consider the findings of the report, and any recommendations the OFT may make, very seriously," she said.

"Supermarkets have to realise they and their customers need a sustainable UK-based supply chain, and that it is not in their interests to squeeze suppliers to the point of elimination."