'Failings in the EU supply chain': Farmers bearing the brunt of unfair practices, says task force

Improve fairness for farmers in the food supply chain, the NFU President has said
Improve fairness for farmers in the food supply chain, the NFU President has said

Farmers are too often bearing the brunt of price volatility says a task force issuing recommendations to tackle unfair trading practices.

The Agricultural Markets Task Force (AMTF) was created by Agricultural Commissioner Phil Hogan in the summer of 2015 following a period of weak agricultural commodity prices.

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Meurig Raymond has called on both the European Commission and the UK government to act on the recommendations which include increasing market transparency, co-operation among farmers and easier access to finance.

Accepting the report, that reflects the result of ten months work, Commissioner Hogan stated: "In view of recent difficulties in some specific sectors, we identified the need to strengthen the role of the farmer in the food chain with the objective of ensuring that he/she gets a fair return for their produce. Strengthening the voice and position of the farmer is a major priority for me."

Unfair trading

Mr Raymond has called on both the European Commission and UK government to act on the recommendations which include increasing market transparency
Mr Raymond has called on both the European Commission and UK government to act on the recommendations which include increasing market transparency

The NFU President said it's 'extremely positive' that the taskforce has recognised the UK farming union calls for mandatory price reporting in order to 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," Mr Raymond said.

"The report highlights how this approach is working well in the United States where price reporting is supported by the whole supply chain and is used by a range of industry stakeholders to support decision making. 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."

The report also calls for new rules at EU level to cover certain Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) in the food chain, such as contracts being reneged and supply schedules being changed, as well as the implementation of effective enforcement regimes in Member States such as through the use of an adjudicator.

EU 'failings'

Mr Raymond said the UK government needs to act on many of the 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.

"Some of the proposals could deliver real change for farming here. UK farming is a strategically important industry that grows and produces the raw ingredients for the UK’s largest manufacturing industry - food and drink - worth £108 billion to the UK economy. It also provides jobs for nearly four million people.

"I strongly urge both the European Commission and the UK Government to accept these suggestions and come forward with legislative proposals to enact them."