Buyers of agricultural food products are reminded of the deadline of 28 April 2022 to meet their legal supply agreement under unfair trading practice (UTP) regulations.

Emphasising the deadline to buyers, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said that all supply agreements for agri-food products "must fully comply" with the provisions of the UTP regulations.

The Minister said: “On 28 April last year, I signed into law the unfair trading practices regulations.

"Under these regulations, buyers have had a year-long lead-in period to ensure that their preexisting supply agreements for agricultural and food products are brought into full compliance with the provisions of the UTP regulations.

Reminders

"I have issued frequent reminders over the last number of months on the need for buyers to be aware of this fact," he said.

He highlighted that buyers must use the next month to ensure that they have taken appropriate action to ensure full compliance with the regulations.

The UTP enforcement authority remains available to assist buyers with any queries they may have to help them understand their obligations under the regulations.

Some 3,200 people completed the recent online survey of primary producers

The Minister added that the authority will be following up any non-compliance matters brought to its attention by affected suppliers.

Some 3,200 people completed the recent online survey of primary producers, which sought to inform the UTP enforcement authority about any UTP-related issues farmers and fishers are facing and whether the buyers that they supply are treating them fairly and lawfully in compliance with the UTP regulations.

"The high-level survey findings will be presented at the enforcement authority’s seminar to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the UTP regulations to be held on 5 May," he said.

Further information, including event registration details, will be published shortly on www.utp.gov.ie.