This Friday 31 May, a new plenary session of the Agri-food Taskforce, launched in February by Minister of Agriculture David Clarinval, was held at the FPS Economy. The agenda consisted of presenting a progress report on the various measures decided in March.
Measures against unfair trading practices (UTP)
A first measure aims to supplement, by royal decree, the list of prohibited unfair practices in order to better balance the power dynamics in negotiations with farmers.
The practices added to the blacklist, i.e. practices that are unfair under all circumstances and from which no derogation is possible, are: delisting (unfair and without prior written justification) as well as practices related to indemnity clauses.
The practices added to the grey list, i.e. practices from which derogation is possible if there is a clear agreement between the parties, concern the ban on purchases below production costs and the ban on refusing to renegotiate in certain circumstances, such as unforeseeable circumstances.
The text, approved by the Council of Ministers on 3 May, has been submitted to the Council of State. It could be published in the coming weeks.
Development of indicators to ensure price transparency
A second measure involves the development of indicators by sector for fair and transparent relations within the agri-food chain. For each sector (beef, pork, plant-based, etc.), the goal is to develop 2 types of indicators:
- An annual structural indicator to assess the long-term structural situation (based on data from regional accounting networks)
- A monthly/quarterly cyclical indicator to assess the volatility of income and costs over recent months.
The first indicator developed, for the beef sector, is expected in September.
Strengthening the Price Observatory at Belgian level and creation of a European Price Observatory
While the FPS Economy will strengthen its own Price Observatory, it is encouraging to note that, in order to address the problems faced by farmers, the European Commission has for its part decided to create a European Price Observatory, whose goal will be to increase price transparency across the entire internal market. The body is made up of nearly 80 members, including the authorities of member states responsible for agriculture and stakeholder representatives. The first meeting will take place in July 2024.
The FPS Economy plans to recruit 12 full-time equivalents for this reinforcement, both for the reference person and to strengthen inspections.
A reference person at the FPS Economy
This measure aims to appoint a neutral reference person, whose task will be to support the development of sector agreements and promote fair trading relations, in particular by drafting opinions and recommendations and taking part in relevant working groups.
Labelling
Under the Belgian Presidency, we raised the European Commission's awareness of the need to clarify food labelling. The Agri Council of 27 May confirmed the need to revise legislation on origin labelling.
Federal awareness campaign for consumers
A federal campaign is planned to promote conscious purchasing, education about labels and food origin, and to encourage support for farmers. It will start in September 2024.
Minister Clarinval points out that this is teamwork: “The measures taken concretely reflect the wishes of the sector. It is also the result of good consultation between the links of the chain, thanks to the help of public authorities. We must continue to encourage this dialogue, and the initiatives being put in place are examples of good practice for Europe. Belgium can be proud of the response given to farmers' demands. The next Government will have to continue this work.”