Deal on measures to reinforce farmers’ position in the food supply chain 

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament.

• Fair prices for farmers’ products 
• Clearer labelling and advertising rules 
• Stricter labelling rules for some meat products for the first time 

On Thursday, Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on new provisions to strengthen the contractual position of farmers to help stabilise their income.

The informal agreement reached by the co-legislators seeks to ensure that the final prices of food products reflect multiple factors, notably the actual costs of production that are borne by farmers and that have a direct impact on their income. Among the agreed measures, member states would be required to establish and publish online indicators to be used as benchmarks in contractual arrangements.

The agreed text also includes provisions to reinforce the role of producer organisations (POs) in market organisation and collective bargaining, such as having POs engage directly with buyers and setting up rules to prevent buyers from contacting individual producers directly.

Labelling and marketing

The provisional agreement clarifies use of the terms “fair” or “equitable” for agricultural products and lists the criteria for allowing such labelling. Thanks to Parliament’s negotiators, such criteria would, for instance, include a product’s contribution to rural community development and the promotion of farmer organisations.

The agreed text would also introduce a definition of meat as “edible parts of animals” and specifies that names, such as steak and liver, must be reserved for products containing meat and must exclude lab-grown products.

The term “short supply chain” on labels or in advertising should only be used for goods that are produced in the EU with a limited number of intermediaries between the farmer and the final consumer, or that are handled over a short distance or during a short traveling time.

Support for the dairy sector

Finally, the co-legislators agreed on measures, such as mandatory written contracts to support dairy producers’ incomes in light of the challenging conditions faced by the sector. Such contracts would have opt outs for price indicators, and revision clauses.

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Rapporteur Céline Imart (EPP, FR) said: “The agreement reached today constitutes a major victory for our farmers. Secured contracts will guarantee them a fair place in the value chain, and the requirement for a mediation mechanism will safeguard their income in the event of a dispute with their primary buyer.

Granting unrecognised producer organisations an exemption from competition law will also enable farmers to better organize themselves, strengthen their weight within the value chain, and protect their income.

With regard to the protection of the designation “meat”, this agreement represents an undeniable success for our livestock farmers. By reserving the use of the terms ‘steak’ and ‘liver’ for products from our livestock farmers, and by committing the co-legislators to extend the list during negotiations within the framework of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, Parliament has taken a decisive step forward. The trilogue agreement reached today recognises the value of livestock farmers’ work and protects their products, fruits of unique know-how, against a form of unfair competition.

Moreover, the explicit inclusion in the text of the prohibition on using the designation ‘meat’ for any laboratory-grown or cell-based product constitutes a decisive step forward for our farmers and for the preservation of the agricultural and food heritage that we defend.”

Next steps

The provisional agreement now needs to be approved by both Parliament and Council before the new rules can enter into force.

Background

Responding to the difficulties and challenges faced by EU farmers in recent years, the Commission put forward a proposal in December 2024 to amend some of the rules on the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (CMO), to reinforce the position of farmers in the food supply chain.

The proposal seeks to enhance the existing provisions on contracts involving farmers, reinforce the bargaining power of producer organisations, simplify their recognition, and establish an incentive framework for voluntary schemes and social sustainability initiatives benefiting farmers.

The proposal is linked to a new regulation on cross-border cooperation in the enforcement of the directive on unfair trading practices, which also ties in with efforts to improve farmers’ position.