The public are being asked to share their views on the Scottish Government’s plans to cap the price of essential foods at supermarkets.
Scots will have until November 24 to make their voices heard after ministers launched a consultation on Tuesday.
First Minister John Swinney first announced the move in the SNP’s Holyrood election manifesto, promising to use devolved powers to compel supermarkets to limit the cost of bread, milk, cheese and other staple items to ease the cost of living.
But business groups have warned that the plans could drive up prices.
The Scottish Government has said the measure would ease cost-of-living pressures on families, particularly lower-income households who spend proportionally more on their food.
Business minister Tom Arthur said: “Helping people with the cost of living is a top priority of this government.
“Our aim is to make essential food items more affordable for households struggling to pay for their weekly shop, particularly those on lower incomes.
“The consultation covers the wide range of factors we need to consider to implement a food price cap.
“I am committed to taking action to address food affordability that works with retailers and protects farmers and food producers.
“I have spent the last three months engaging with bodies with an interest in this and encourage everyone to have their say.”
On Monday, 23 business organisations wrote to the First Minister asking him not to introduce a statutory cap on some food and drink prices.
The business organisations said: “We jointly believe the mooted statutory food price cap is unnecessary, ineffective, and likely to deliver significant adverse consequences.
“This is despite the assurances you have sought to provide to primary producers. The impacts upon retailers, food and drink producers, and shopworkers in themselves are undesirable but the effect will be to increase, rather than decrease, the cost of household goods.”
The letter’s signatories include groups representing retail, food and drink production, manufacturing and distribution businesses in Scotland.
Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said: “Farmers are warning that this will push them out of business, while retailers say it could lead to job losses.
“The SNP love populist policy ideas which sound plausible and then backfire horribly.
“What’s frustrating is that this kind of policymaking ignores genuine solutions like Liberal Democrat calls for an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into potential profiteering by supermarkets and food multinationals.
“We also want to see more support for farmers facing rising energy bills and costly red tape, so that Scottish farmers can get great value food on tables.”
The public consultation on food price controls can be found at www.gov.scot/publications/price-controls-essential-food-items-consultation-paper