Almost €42 million in fines were issued after hundreds of cases relating to unfair trading practices (UTPs) which found infringements between 2022 and 2024.

The European Commission has this week published a report on the evaluation of the Directive on unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain.

The evaluation results show that, although still in its early years, the directive is already helping to promote a fairer and more balanced business environment in the agri-food chain across the EU, according to the commission.

The evaluation report will feed directly into the commission as it plans to review the rules on UTPs.

This review will assess how to better protect farmers against UTPs and address the situation that they should not be forced to systematically sell their products below production costs.

Although the evaluation of the directive did not yet provide clear conclusions about how effective it is, there are encouraging signs of preventing and combating UTPs, with greater trust in the agri-food chain having contributed to a more responsible business culture, the commission has outlined.

It confirms that the legislation remains relevant for addressing the challenges faced by farmers and small suppliers, who often hold weaker bargaining power in the agri-food chain.

Unfair trading practices

Overall, the number of investigations and enforcement actions by national authorities gradually increased, with more than 4,500 investigations opened between 2021 and 2024.

About one third of investigations closed between 2021 and 2024 found an infringement, resulting in 754 cases and €41.9 million in fines between 2022 and 2024, showing an upward trend and growing institutional engagement with UTPs.

At the same time, survey data suggest that farmers and suppliers report a low number of UTPs in particular due to continued fear of retaliation.

Producer organisations and other supplier organisations, including those from third countries, could play a stronger role in supporting individual suppliers and filing complaints on their behalf, the evaluation determined.

The report also noted that proactive investigations are still underused by national enforcement authorities. At the same time, anonymous tip-offs have proven to be a valuable source, helping national enforcement authorities with investigations.

The report highlights areas where further progress is needed. Awareness of the directive among farmers and smaller suppliers and access to information still need to be improved, according to the commission.

Cooperation between national enforcement authorities on cross-border cases could be further strengthened and the commission said it has already acted on this issue with a proposal agreed last month.

On efficiency, the evaluation concludes that the costs of implementing the directive are proportionate to the benefits, especially when considering primary producers and small suppliers.

The evaluation also confirms that the directive is coherent with other EU interventions, finding no conflicts or inconsistencies, and that it provides EU added value.

Even though EU member dtates implemented the directive in different ways, sometimes creating challenges for companies operating across different member states, farmers and smaller suppliers benefit thanks to the directive from a minimum level of protection against UTPs harmonised across the EU, the report outlined.

Next steps

The report summarising the main findings of the evaluation will be shared with the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions. 

The report also highlights areas where the UTP framework and its implementation could be further strengthened, including through an update of the directive.

Building on this evaluation, and as announced in the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s 2025 State of the Union address, the commission intends to review the of the EU’s unfair trading practices legislation. 

This publication comes after the co-legislators successfully reached a political agreement on November 12, agreeing to improve cross-border cooperation and coordinated action in cases of large-scale unfair trading practices.