Households are buckling under the weight of high food prices, prompting an intervention from Labor.

The government has directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to review prices and competition in the sector.

Former Labor minister Craig Emerson has been appointed to review the effectiveness of the grocery code of conduct.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Coles and Woolworths knew “public opinion matters to their business”.

“There’ll be pressure on the supermarkets to do the right thing,” he said.

“The pressure has built over a period of time.”

Albanese said when farmers were getting less for their products, people should “quite clearly” be paying less at the check out.

“We have stood up for customers, stood up for farmers as well,” he said.

Greens senator Nick McKim is leading a parliamentary inquiry into supermarket prices.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has called for divestiture powers to help increase competition in the sector.

“Let’s bring forward all those reviews 12 months earlier and actually give the ACCC the powers they need,” he said.

“We need to come together as legislators, put aside politics and bring in divestiture powers which would strip these big supermarkets of some of their chains and in fact, even in a geographical level, might even see that some of their stores have to be sold off to competitors to increase competition.”

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said it was “heartbreaking” farmers were being placed in a difficult position by supermarkets.

“That’s why we do need stronger laws and stronger rules around supermarket behaviour than what we’ve ever had before,” he said.

“I’m hoping that that will be the outcome of these reviews.”

– AAP