IFA president Eddie Downey at the IFA's 60th Annual General Meeting at the Irish Farm Centre in Dublin.
President of the IFA, Eddie Downey, said that EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan's comments on unfair trading practices in the food chain must be followed up by determined action.
Following comments made by EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan at the EXPO 2015 in Milan this week on inequality in the food chain, Irish Farmers Association (IFA) President Eddie Downey said there should be legislation in place to address this.
At the event in Milan, Hogan acknowledged that most of the farming organisations are currently outside of the voluntary Supply Chain Initiative, a joint initiative launched by seven EU level associations with the aim to increase fairness in commercial relations along the food supply chain. However, he hoped that a robust self-regulatory initiative could be agreed to eradicate unfair trading practices.
Downey said, “We welcome the regulation that some Member States, including Ireland, have put in place to address unfair trading practices in the food chain. However, we feel that this is a fragmented approach. We support the coexistence of a legislative and voluntary framework and hope the Commission can lead with legislation at European Union level”.
Commissioner Hogan indicated that the Commission will issue a report in the first half of 2016 on unfair trading practices and is working together with Commissioner of Internal Markets Elzbieta Bienkowska in developing this document.
