The recently-established Agri-Food Regulator has urged all agri-food companies who must appoint a liaison officer to do so before the deadline of 13 June.

By law, any company buying agri-food goods and whose annual turnover exceeds €50m must appoint a liaison officer to function as a point of contact between the business and the regulator for the purposes of assessing compliance with unfair trading practices regulations.

Businesses meeting these criteria have to submit a report to the regulator by the end of March each year setting out its compliance or otherwise with unfair trading practices rules in the previous year, with the first report due in March 2025.

Information

The information required in these reports includes the detail of supply agreements, records of any costs shouldered by suppliers for retailer promotions and any incidents where orders of perishable goods were cancelled.

“The Agri-Food Regulator was established to promote fairness and transparency in the agri-food supply chain, with a focus on business-to-business relationships,” CEO of the regulator’s office Niamh Lenehan stated.

“This compliance-reporting obligation on relevant buyers will facilitate the regulator in overseeing compliance with the unfair trading regulations along the agri-food supply chain.

“Since establishment, we have held a significant number of meetings with businesses and organisations representing all stages of the food supply chain.”

The CEO added that the regulator remains committed to ensuring “open and constructive relationships” with those along the agri-food supply chain.