Claims that Britain's big grocers are responsible for the plight of farmers have been quashed by research conducted on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The London Economics study showed farmers are paid a price for their produce that reflects the price paid by shoppers.
Britain's retailers pass on more savings to customers via cheaper prices than their counterparts in other European Union countries.
The findings were welcomed by the British Retail Consortium. Director general Kevin Hawkins said: 'This proves what we have always known - that falls in farm-gate prices are passed on to consumers at retail level just as quickly as increases in farm prices.
'The report also shows that there is no significant relationship between the strength of the UK supermarket sector in UK food retailing and the difference between prices paid to farmers and the price the consumer pays. It is time for those who constantly criticise food retailers' relationships with farmers to admit that their attacks are based on nothing more than myth and prejudice.'
Relations between farmers and the big grocers have long been turbulent, amid allegations that retailers abuse their power. The Office of Fair Trading is investigating the effectiveness of the existing code of conduct.
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