Maybe it's because Valentine's Day is just round the corner. Or maybe it's that tales of supermarket mistreatment of suppliers are founded in myth.

Whatever the reason, written submissions made to the Competition Commission by manufacturers - and released in the weeks following the publication of Emerging Thinking - suggest suppliers are rather more enamoured of their customers than previously thought.

"We were once a small food manufacturer," writes Ranjit Singh, chief executive of poultry supplier 2 Sisters, in one typically glowing letter. "In total, over 10,000 people are [now] employed in our poultry supply chain. Without the professionalism and success of the UK's leading retailers, none of this would be possible."

Another fan is Dave Brooks, chief executive of Finsbury Food Group. "We recently had a major fire at one of our bakeries in Scotland that put the whole bakery out of operation for a month," he says. "Our customers have been brilliant. They have turned away the 'vultures' trying to steal our business."

The Commission said it was concerned that supermarkets had increased their share of milk profits at the expense of dairy farmers and processors. But one major supplier of milk is having none of it. Robert Wiseman, chief executive of Robert Wiseman Dairies, writes that its contracts with supermarkets have "allowed us to grow our profits in line with growth in turnover".

Even farmers who rail against the supermarkets have got it wrong, according Mike McKenzie of egg producer Hoads Farm.

He praises big retailers, adding: "I have spoken with many farmers and conclude that where they disagree with my views on working with large multiples this is due either to ignorance, or because the structure of their business makes them uncompetitive, or their farming methods are incompatible with a modern business environment."