Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has today (Tuesday, December 16) announced the introduction of new regulations that will confer enhanced powers on the Agri-Food Regulator.

It's part of an effort to strengthen transparency and fairness across the agri-food supply chain.

An Rialálaí Agraibhia (The Agri-Food Regulator), established in December 2023 under the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023, has a dual statutory role.

It enforces legislation on unfair trading practices (UTPs) and carries out price and market analysis to improve transparency and equity throughout the agri-food supply chain.

Minister Heydon paid tribute to the work of the regulator stating: “Since its establishment, the Agri-Food Regulator has fulfilled its statutory role to the highest standards, in particular on the enforcement of unfair trading practice legislation, and continues to work effectively on behalf of stakeholders in the agri-food sector.”

Enhanced powers for Agri-Food Regulator

Minister Heydon confirmed that he has now signed regulations that will provide the Agri-Food Regulator with additional powers to compel the provision of price and market information from businesses in circumstances where voluntary requests for such information have not been complied with.

Minister Heydon stated: “Under these regulations, the regulator will have the capacity to compel price and market information from operators in cases where businesses have not complied with requests for information voluntarily.

"I am satisfied that these regulations are proportionate and will allow the regulator to provide insightful analysis into the agri-food sector, while having regard to any potential impact on competitiveness or the distortion of competition.”

The enhanced powers relate specifically to the regulator’s price and market analysis function, which is separate from its enforcement role in relation to UTPs.

Scope and proportionality

The Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023 applies across the agri-food supply chain, including supermarkets and large retailers.

However, Minister Heydon confirmed that the new regulations will exclude small businesses in recognition of the potential administrative burden such measures can place on smaller enterprises.

For the purposes of these regulations, a small business is defined, in line with EU legislation, as an enterprise that employs fewer than 50 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet total does not exceed €10 million.

Minister Heydon continued: “I am conscious that smaller enterprises can be disproportionately impacted by regulatory or administrative burdens.

To further minimise administrative burden, the minister said that the regulations provide that the regulator may not compel data for an individual product from any business more than once in a 12-month period.

Under Section 12(3)(d) of the 2023 Act, the regulator may seek data relevant to price and margins, including but not limited to:

Prices paid and received;
Margins;
Financial and accounting data;
Throughput of agricultural produce;
Policy and procedural data;
Employment status and salary information.

Commencement date

The regulations will come into effect on December 31, 2026 which will allow sufficient lead-in time for the Agri-Food Regulator to develop the necessary systems, processes and procedures to implement the new powers effectively.

In the interim, the regulator will continue to carry out its market analysis and reporting functions using publicly available information and data provided voluntarily by businesses.

Consultative and legislative process

Minister Heydon noted that the introduction of these powers required careful consideration, as they go beyond existing EU market transparency regulations: “As this extension of powers involves novel legislation, my department undertook a detailed consultative and legislative process before drafting the regulations.

"I needed to be satisfied that any additional powers conferred on the regulator were proportionate.”

The consultative process included engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including farm bodies, industry and retail representatives, relevant government departments, tsate agencies and the Agri-Food Regulator itself.

Strengthening the position of smaller suppliers

The minister emphasised that the primary objective of the regulations is to improve transparency in the agri-food supply chain and to strengthen the position of smaller suppliers who may face larger buyers with greater bargaining power.

“These enhanced powers will significantly improve the regulator’s ability to deliver meaningful and insightful price and market analysis across all parts of the agri-food supply chain, including the retail sector,” Minister Heydon said.