A group of farmers has begun a direct action campaign against Morrisons and other supermarket chain in protest over the threatened price war.

Farmers for Action has organised blockades of depots owned by Tesco, Asda and Morrisons over the past fortnight including Morrisons depots in Cheshire and Bristol, as well as Tesco depots in Southampton and Kent.

A gang of farmers and their tractors are understood to have stopped lorries at depots but were moved after a few hours when the police became involved.

The action is a protest at the price cuts on 800 products at Safeway following its takeover by cheaper rivals Morrisons. Tesco and Asda announced they would also cut prices in response, indicating a price war is about to break out.

Morrisons corporate affairs director Chris Blundell said its price cuts were due to the supermarket reducing its margins on the product and that the price the farmer gets paid would not be changed.

Terry Jones, head of the food chain unit at the National Farmer’s Union, agrees. He said that the supermarket price war has not yet affected farmers and that Morrisons has worked with the industry in the past by buying some products directly from farmers.

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