EuroCommerce members have released a statement emphasising that EU-level legislation regarding trading practices, currently being discussed in the European Parliament, will 'distort' the supply chain.
EuroCommerce is a European organisation representing the retail and wholesale sector, encompassing 31 countries and 5.4 million companies.
In the statement, members said that they 'regret' that debates in the European Parliament, on the report of the Agricultural Markets Task Force, are focusing on the 'misleading and mistaken belief that EU legislation on trading practices can resolve the problems of farmers in the supply chain'.
Christian Verschueren, director general of the association, commented, "Diverse, high-quality food is Europe’s unique strength, and what retailers need to attract consumers to come to their stores. We want to work with farmers and their organisations to make it easier for farmers to supply what consumers want.
"We therefore regret that, once again, hard-working farmers are being given a misleading promise that their problems will be solved at a stroke by legislation on trading practices, based on arguments which those putting them forward must know are simply not true. This approach to farmers' problems diverts attention away from where policy could really help farmers flourish."
Verschueren said that EU-level legislation would be ineffective because retailers buy less than 5% of their products directly from farmers, as most buy from large suppliers. Therefore, the price paid by a retailer will have little effect on what a farmer gets for his/her produce.
"Proposing EU-level legislation covering trading practices, which relate almost exclusively to negotiations with large multinational manufacturers, does nothing to create a sustainable farming sector that everyone wants, and instead will simply pile on further costs for hard-pressed consumers," Verschueren added.
Secondly, as many member states have their own national legislation that protects parties against unfair breaches of contract, EU-level legislation would be redundant, he said.
The group did say that it supported certain recommendations of the Task Force report, such as encouraging producers to work together more closely to enhance their bargaining position, the use of risk management tools, and access to financing and contractualisation.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
