The government has been told by Co-op to 'look again' at the impact of its controversial inheritance tax proposal on farming businesses.
The retailer is the latest supermarket chain to call on the government to revisit its change, which was first announced in the autumn budget.
From April 2026, a 20 percent tax on inherited agricultural assets worth over £1 million will be rolled out.
Co-op's new intervention comes after Tesco, Lidl, Asda and Morrisons all waded into the ongoing row, which has seen farmers protest in London and across the UK.
Ashwin Prasad, chief commercial officer of Tesco, the UK's largest retailer, called for a 'pause' to the government's implementation of the budget measures.
Now Co-op's food managing director, Matt Hood has said that the retailer was aware of the 'tough choices' that need to be made by farmers across the country.
He said: "We have also agreed to sign the UK farming unions letter going to the government imminently, to call for a reconsideration of the proposed tax changes.
"By working so closely with British farmers, we know as an industry, they are facing many challenges, and we have seen first-hand the fear, anxiety and anger currently being felt.
"Farmers are the absolute backbone of the UK's food supply, and supporting UK agriculture is more important than ever.
"We will continue our long-term, significant commitment to the industry, investing and spending hundreds of millions of pounds every year."
Earlier this month, Morrisons told farmers 'we're with you' in their fight against the Labour government's action.
Asda also offered their public backing for farmers recently by supporting a demand for a pause in the implementation of the budget measures.
