The European Commission launches a consultation on the revision of rules in the agri-food supply chain

In 2023, the Commission launched an evaluation of Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in the agri-food supply chain. The evaluation report highlighted that, despite encouraging initial results in preventing and combating unfair trading practices, gaps and challenges remain.

Despite these advances, farmers and small suppliers are still exposed to major power imbalances with their more powerful buyers. The main factor of imbalance lies in negotiating power, which weakens farmers and small suppliers and encourages abusive commercial practices. Recent crises have accentuated these tensions, making markets more unstable and less transparent.

These practices also persist because of insufficient knowledge of existing rights, or because suppliers are economically dependent on their buyers. The current legal framework also has its limitations: Certain emerging practices fall outside the scope of the directive's regulations. Contractual arrangements make it possible to circumvent the spirit of the directive, and some suppliers, although vulnerable, are not covered by it because they exceed the current thresholds. This situation contributes in particular to sales at prices below production costs, jeopardizing the economic viability of farmers within the domestic market.
Finally, the directive's effectiveness is weakened by uneven application between member states and a lack of reliable, harmonized data, making it difficult to assess practices and adapt rules to changes in the sector.

In the light of these results and its policy guidelines for 2024-2029, the Commission intends, through this revision, to close the gaps in the directive, address the remaining challenges in the agri-food supply chain, and consider the need for additional measures to support the economic performance of the sector as a whole.
The proposed revision could include :

• strengthening the application of rules, in particular by combating fear of reprisals and improving complaint, confidentiality and anonymity mechanisms;
• improving monitoring and harmonization of the application of rules between member states;
• broadening supplier protection, for example by introducing new prohibited unfair trade practices;
• improving the functioning and fairness of the internal market in the agri-food sector, and support sustainability and resilience objectives in the food supply chain.

All stakeholders - farmers, suppliers, buyers of agricultural products and foodstuffs using agricultural products, SMEs, professional organizations, NGOs, public authorities, researchers and citizens - are invited to take part in the call for contributions and respond to the public consultation on the revision of the directive.

The contributions received will feed into the Commission's impact assessment, with a view to a legislative proposal expected in the third quarter of 2026.