He said Hawkesbury area farmers have seen the games played by the buyers for the supermarkets and they are sending farmers broke.

"For what the consumer has to pay, and what the farmer gets, the consumer's getting ripped off," Mr Muscat said.

His remarks are in response to the six-month inquiry into grocery prices by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which found no evidence of anti-competitive behaviour by the supermarket chains towards fresh-produce suppliers.

Yet fruit and vegetable growers insist they are struggling to get fair prices from the big supermarkets and barely cover transport and packaging costs.

Former Hawkesbury citrus grower Bill McMahon, now a Flemington Markets grower representative, said he did not think the supermarkets paid well enough.

"Often stuff is returned to the grower on the pretext of quality but sometimes the supermarkets have overbought and just don't want to carry it," he said.

"They quote a price and renege on it [citing] quality."

Hawkesbury-Lower Nepean Water Users' Association chairman Paul Rasmussen, a Hawkesbury councillor, acts for more than 650 growers.

"Farmers are getting screwed," he said.

"The buyers, who act on behalf of the big boys, play games with the producers.

"They might say they don't want cabbages or cucumbers this week. So what do the farmers do?

"They have to take them all back.

"So the buyers say, 'We'll take them but we'll only give you half the normal price'."

Cr Rasmussen recommended that consumers support local farmers by shopping at their suburban greengrocers.

"Ask if it's grown locally," he said.

"There is already a trend to grow local and buy local."

A spokesman for Coles said: "We note that the ACCC has released the results of its inquiry which has stated that the supermarkets are paying fair prices for their produce and there is no evidence of exploitation by retailers."