TIR Chief Executive Officer Grant Hinchcliffe said if true, reported claims by ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel that the website only compared supermarkets that were 1000 square metres or larger were wrong.

"There are no independent supermarkets in southern or north west Tasmania over 1000 sq metres in size, be they IGA banner supermarkets, Foodworks or other non-aligned grocery retailers," Mr Hinchcliffe said.

"In fact there are only two independent supermarkets in the State with a floor space over 1000 sq metres and they are located in St Helens and Prospect.

"TIR is supportive of any policy that will encourage increased competition in the grocery sector, however, the methodology of the Grocery Choice Policy is clearly flawed.

"It's unfair and unreasonable to compare the retail prices of a small independent to that of Woolworths or Coles that operate stores up to three times or more in size, with on average up to six to eight times the turnover.

"These two major chains, which collectively control 80 per cent of the grocery market, have greater cost efficiencies relative to their higher turnover, not to mention the capacity to negotiate more favourable terms with their suppliers and ultimately buy at better prices than the smaller independents."

Mr Hinchcliffe said the ACCC's misleading claims made the surveys and the Grocery Choice website meaningless to the consumers who referred to it.

"I can only hope that over time the Government and the ACCC will take into consideration the criticism raised and modify the system accordingly so that it can provide more factual information to those consumers who use it," he said.

"IGA supermarkets provide convenient shopping, exceptional service, the right product range to suit local customers' needs and highly competitive specials, while contributing back a proportion of their sales to community and charity groups in their areas."

TIR is a cooperative, which represents over 120 stores in Tasmania operating under the Festival IGA, Supa IGA, Value Plus IGA and Friendly Grocer IGA banners.