The recommendations of a supermarket pricing inquiry have been dismissed by the opposition as a "missed opportunity" to deliver real action for Queenslanders.
The inquiry was tasked with investigating the state's supply chain between primary producers, supermarkets and consumers and why there are price discrepancies in the three tiers.
"Queensland consumers are at a distinct lack of advantage due to the dominant market share of the two major retailers," the report found after months of public hearings and dozens of submissions from farmers, consumers, councils and supermarkets.
"Coles and Woolworths continue to record increased profits through their supermarket chains and are therefore able to invest in greater coverage and expansion within the marketplace."
The report, released on Friday, made eight recommendations, including introducing a farmers' commissioner to act as a central point of contact between producers, to report on the difference between farmgate and supermarket prices and be able to complain about adverse behaviours.
The opposition slammed the inquiry as lacking real action on pricing for both producers and consumers.
"It was a missed opportunity to focus on the things that the state government can actually control and to use the process to try and put the blowtorch on supermarkets," opposition leader David Crisafulli told reporters on Saturday.
"I don't think there's many Queenslanders, whether they grow food or buy it, who look at this inquiry and see anything other than the government wanting to make announcements rather than actually deliver reform."
Premier Steven Miles rejected the criticism that the inquiry had been a waste of time.
"The suggestion that we should have a commissioner whose job it is to advocate for farmers and to liaise for them with other levels of government and the supermarkets, that sounds like a good idea to me," he told reporters on Friday.
"I want to make sure that our primary producers are appropriately compensated for their produce, and also make sure that there's some transparency in what they are getting paid and what Queensland families are paying for that same fresh produce at the grocery store."
He said the government is considering the recommendations before it issues a formal response.
The inquiry revealed the stronghold major supermarket chains have in Queensland and the stark rise of prices, particularly in regional areas.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the rising prices for staples in 2023, with bread up by 9.4 per cent, milk by 4.2 per cent, cheese by 8.6 per cent and eggs by 10.9 per cent.
The Torres Strait Regional Authority told the inquiry grocery prices are 170 per cent higher than in the regional community of Chinchilla on the mainland.
A survey of 1000 Queenslanders revealed more than half were unable to afford basic grocery items like bread, milk and eggs in the last six months.
As for producers, some said major supermarkets used their power to suppress the prices paid to farmers despite increased production costs, while selling it to consumers at a higher profit margin.
However, the major supermarkets argued the price increases to customers were a result of increased cost requests from suppliers.
