I might not have been writing about this trade quite as long as David Shapley but, at the risk of sounding like him, there have certainly been some changes in the industry during my eight years at the Journal. There are also a handful of issues that I am surprised the trade has not managed to sort out yet.

BIFGA started campaigning for a more even playing field for suppliers in their dealings with supermarkets around the time I started at the Journal. So in eight years we should have flattened out at least some of the bumps, especially as a code of practice has been in place for more than a year.

I have attended many industry meetings and conferences where the message has been plain: if growers don't make the returns they need to then they will go out of business, and if supermarkets cannot supply what their customers want, their business suffers too. So are these simple market forces making any difference? If not, why not, and is a regulator what is required?

I am not convinced. If we have a regulator for the supermarkets then does that mean we need one for all the chain stores that dominate our clothing purchases or the pubs we frequent? And anyway, isn't that what the OFT is for?

Surely as a trade it is better to sort this one out without intervention. Ethical trading and good agricultural practice are buzzwords in the retail trade and represent a significant commitment on the part of the multiples. So surely this one is not too big to get right once and for all.