Important Step Forward in Retail Regulation with Agreement in Brussels
IFA President Joe Healy has welcomed the agreement reached in Brussels today between the EU Commission, Parliament and Council on a fairer food chain.
“Today’s agreement shows there is significant political momentum behind the EU directive to rule out Unfair Trading Practices. What we need to see now is our Government move this forward without delay. This includes the appointment of an independent retail regulator for the food sector.”
The IFA President, as Chairman of the COPA and COGECA Group on the Food Supply Chain, has led the campaign on behalf of European farmers on retail dominance and Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs).
Joe Healy said it’s less than a week since IFA held a protest at Marks & Spencer over their discounting of potatoes and vegetables.
The IFA President said, “It is clear that farmers are not getting a fair share of the retail price. Many retailers are behaving like modern-day dictatorships, abusing their power to accumulate vast profits. The current situation, where processors and retailers make a margin, with farmers forced to produce at or below the cost of production, is unacceptable”.
Joe Healy acknowledged the work Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development is doing in this area. “IFA has campaigned for many years, nationally and in Europe, for a re-balancing of power in the food supply chain, to deliver a viable price for farmers, and a return on their work and investment.”
