The European Milk Board (EMB) has said that there is “still a lot more that should be done” to strengthen producer positions in the food supply chain.
Following months of farming protests throughout Europe, the commission presented a reflection paper this month with a range of short, medium and longer-term measures to improve farmers positions.
The EMB said that the paper is the “first step in the right direction”, but added recommendations to improve each proposal.
“Farmers are in a critical situation and real improvements on this front should be Europe’s utmost priority,” the board stated.
Producer proposals
One of the proposals looks at setting up an observatory to monitor production costs, margins and trade practices in the EU food supply chain, where the commission, Member States and farmers would all be involved.
The EMB said such an observatory “is necessary”, but should be actively involved and “not simply be limited to being a talk shop”.
Another proposal looks at strengthening provisions on contracts at EU level.
The EMB stated that contracts must be fit for purpose and accessible to all farmers.
It added that there is also a need for EU legislation on contracts that stipulates that producer prices must compulsorily be higher than production costs.
Another proposal looks at strengthening producer organisations and their associations.
The EMB welcomed this proposal, but said it must be made under the following conditions:
- To negotiate for cooperative members as well;
- To have higher pooling thresholds: Thresholds in the EU are at 4% at EU level and are usually 33% nationally.
Another proposal looks at creating a framework for fairer projects. EMB executive committee member, Boris Gondouin said: “it is important for new rules to provide real support and to not create new obstacles for these projects.
“The underlying conditions necessary for producer projects must be kept in mind because it is anything but easy to set them up on the ground”.