He writes:
The NFU in Brussels has long championed the need to inject fairness into the food chain, and this is now sharply in focus on the European stage.
In the UK, long-term NFU action was required to firstly work towards introducing the Groceries Supply Chain Code of Practice. This was followed by the not insignificant task of cajoling UK government into introducing an Adjudicator with real regulatory teeth to oversee the code. We now have a system which whilst not perfect yet, is beginning to yield the supply chain culture change that farmers urgently need.
The same cannot be said across the EU, where evidence of ‘unfair trading practices’ between suppliers, processors and retailers in the food sector has led to calls for legislative action from individual farm groups and the EU farmers’ organisation Copa-Cogeca, of which NFU is a leading member.
- Why do we need a 25-year food and farming plan? - Director of policy, Andrew Clark
- Sugar beet growers look for answers on EU exit - Diane Armitage, NFU Sugar adviser
- Why we're taking 50 tractors into 50 schools - East Midlands press adviser, Alison Pratt
- Big Farmland Bird Count - a farmer's perspective - Yorkshire farmer Richard Bramley
- Blog: Fruit and veg - why don't we eat more? - Lee Abbey, horticulture adviser
- Tesco's commitment must be followed up - Ruth Mason, Chief Food Chain Adviser
At EU level there is a voluntary approach called the ‘Supply Chain Initiative’ which sets out the ‘rules of the game’ for business dealings in the food sector, but without an adequate independent ‘referee’ to enforce them, we have argued that it is unlikely that business practices will alter any time soon.
The European Commission agree with us. While the commission do not at this stage propose legislation, in a recent report on fairness in the food chain, the commission set out the weaknesses of the Supply Chain Initiative and noted the urgent need to ‘allow alleged victims of Unfair Trading Practices to complain confidentially’ and to ‘nominate an independent body with power to investigate and impose sanctions’.
We echo these sentiments, and await the significant improvements to the EU voluntary approach that policymakers are demanding. From our side, we will continue to fight to improve the position of farming businesses, and champion fair and equitable relationships in the food supply chain.