The European Milk Board (EMB) has said EU legislation "still fails to provide sufficient protection for farmers" and welcomed EU efforts to better protect food producers.

The EMB was commenting following the European Commission's release of a new evaluation report on the Directive on Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) in the agricultural and food supply chain, adopted in 2019.

The directive’s stated intention is to “achieve a more efficient and fairer food supply chain...which also includes producer cooperation and measures to enhance market transparency”.

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.

Building on the evaluation, the Commission has stated its intention to review the EU’s unfair trading practices legislation. 

European Milk Board

According to a statement by the EMB, the European Commission's review of UTP “makes one thing unmistakably clear: current legislation still fails to provide sufficient protection for farmers”.

The board added that it “strongly welcomes" the commission’s intention to revise the directive.

“The commission’s analysis shows that while the UTP Directive provides a starting point, it does not sufficiently protect farmers from unfair practices," the EMB said.

“The structural imbalance of power between producers on the one hand and large retail or processing companies on the other persists unchanged.

“It must be used to close the substantial remaining gaps."

EMB demands

EMB called for the inclusion of a number of core elements in UTP reform, including:

EU-wide ban on producer prices below production costs;
Inclusion of the EMB legislative proposal;
Stronger and more effective enforcement;
Establishment of a stable market framework.

“Only a clear and binding legal framework - based on full costs including a fair income - can prevent producers from being systematically forced to sell below value, jeopardising the economic viability of the entire sector,” the EMB statement said.

The board also called for "reliable protection" for farmers filing a complaint, ensuring that they can do so.

“A strengthened UTP Directive should create the foundation for a fair market environment, prevent chronic price dumping, and safeguard the long-term future of European milk production," the statement added.

“The planned revision of the UTP Directive presents a crucial opportunity to address the structural weaknesses in the food sector.

“EMB calls on EU policymakers to seize this moment — to reinforce farmers’ rights and to secure a fair and sustainable food supply in Europe.”