The creation of a Groceries Code Adjudicator-style body covering the European agri-food sector could be a step closer after proposals were submitted this week to the European Commission.
A report outlining the plans by the EC’s Agricultural Markets Task Force (AMTF) was presented to European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan yesterday (14 November).
The taskforce, chaired by former Dutch minister for agriculture Cees Veerman, was set up by Hogan in January to reflect “increased concern regarding global developments in the food supply chain and, in particular, the position of the producer in that chain”.
It is calling for new rules at EU level to cover certain unfair trading practices (UTPs) across the food supply chain, as well as the implementation of effective enforcement regimes in member states through the use of an adjudicator.
The report, entitled Improving Market Outcomes - Enhancing the Position of Farmers in the Supply Chain, will be discussed by European agriculture ministers at a meeting in Brussels today.
Its recommendations also include increasing market transparency through mandatory price reporting, enhancing co-operation among farmers, facilitating farmers’ access to finance and improving the take-up of risk management tools.
“Consumers need to know that they squeeze producers at their peril,” the report warned, adding that farmers across Europe were currently bearing the brunt of price volatility and prolonged periods of low prices.
“They may want cheap food but how much of that money gets to the people who grow it? We need healthy farms as part of a healthy supply chain.”
The report was welcomed by NFU president Meurig Raymond, who described the task force’s plans for mandatory price reporting as “extremely positive” and said it would increase market transparency across the supply chain.
“The NFU has often raised the issue of the ‘black hole’ in market data on the processor-buyer end of the supply chain which stifles trust, collaboration and the development of market risk management tools,” Raymond said.
“Adopting this model has the potential to create a much more joined up approach to managing market risk in the UK and the European Union,” he added.
“The UK Government needs to act on many of these recommendations to support UK agriculture. Many of the failings found in the EU supply chain are also prevalent here in the UK and we must see change. We badly need an improvement in market data collection and auditing, especially in the dairy and livestock sectors and the strengthening of the various voluntary codes that we have seen developed over recent years.”
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