Unfair Trading Practices Consultation Open
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, opened the Public Consultation on the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain – known as the UTP Directive.
The Directive is one of a number of initiatives at EU Level aimed at improving the transparency and fairness of the food supply chain. It is designed to protect weaker suppliers against unfair trading practises (UTPs) by stronger buyers in the food supply chain. The Directive covers only agricultural and food products. It establishes turnover based categories of operators according to which protection is afforded.
Minister Creed said he welcomed the legislation. “It is a significant step towards ensuring more fairness in the food chain for those producers who are particularly vulnerable to unfair trading practices. It provides protection for farmers and small and mid-range businesses who have the least bargaining power and are least able to address UTPs without negative effects on their economic viability”.
The Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine is inviting submissions to a public consultation on the transposition of the UTP Directive. The closing date for the receipt of submissions is 13 December 2019.
RGDATA successfully campaigned to stop this Directive from banning wholesaler/retailer buying alliances. RGDATA has said it will review the final Directive and make a submission regarding its implementation by the Irish Government
