Growing strawberries was a way of life for William Hudson for nearly 20 years but he has quit over the sharp practices employed by supermarkets to boost their profits.

He is one of the few willing to speak out about the threats and intimidation used by retail buyers and has sent a dossier listing his grievances to the Competition Commission.

Mr Hudson, 49, who grew fruit in Ardleigh, Essex, supplied strawberries to all the main chains. He was paid £2.50 per kg but then had to pay half that to another company for packaging, labelling and transportation. The use of the other company was a condition of the supermarket he supplied.

Another hidden charge dictated by the supermarkets is known as a “retrospective discount”. Every three months the supermarket would count up the volume supplied by the grower and demand at least 3 per cent discount.

Mr Hudson said: “This really is just buying the right to supply a supermarket. I was so angry I once asked the supermarket for an invoice for the discount. I did not get a reply.

“In other walks of life if you work hard and sell more volume you get the benefit, but in the food chain it is always the supermarket who does best. But if you want to do business with a supermarket these are the games you have to play.”

Mr Hudson says that he has been threatened by some buyers for raising questions. One said: “We don’t have to take your stock.”

He also puts the spotlight on promotions, mainly “buy one get one free” offers. “Strawberry growers now have to pay for a promotion during Wimbledon fortnight. It’s not even the main strawberry season but we have to go along with the myth. For every punnet sold we have to supply the other free.”

Mr Hudson could not continue his business because prices were being forced down so aggressively they were stagnant from 1990 to 2005.

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