This is a subscriber-only article
Italian MEP Paolo de Castro led a group of MEPs who joined farmers outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg to support legislation against unfair trading practices in the food industry.
The Parliament's plenary is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Thursday after its agriculture committee gave its green light earlier this month.
The legislation prepared by European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan would ban practices such as late payments and last-minute order cancellations in the agri food industry.
French farmers’ organisations FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs, part of the EU-wide Copa-Cogeca and CEJA, had tractors parked outside the European Parliament on Wednesday draped with a banner carrying the word "unfair". They cut it in half to turn it into "fair".
We can act to prevent unfair trading practices and rid the food chain of such oppressive actions
“National experience shows that we can act to prevent unfair trading practices and rid the food chain of such oppressive actions,” said Hervé Lapie, FNSEA’s vice president. He added that 20 EU countries already have national legislation in place to that effect. "None of them have reported an increase in food prices for consumers or a downgrade in standards in food production or animal welfare."
IFA president and Copa vice president Joe Healy, alsohopes the legislation is passed.
“Irish farmers will be watching closely to ensure our MEPs do not give in to lobbying by greedy retailers. It is quite hypocritical of the same group to be talking about transparency given the lack of clarity around margins in the food chain,” Healy said.
He added that 97% of consumers were in favour of the legislation, according to a recent European Commission survey.
However some critics, including Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy, have opposed the current proposal, arguing that it does not go far enough to protect farmers from abusive practices by processors and retailers.
SHARING OPTIONS: