Less than a week left to complete unfair trading survey
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said: “The survey results will be processed anonymously by an independent market research company and I look forward to receiving the findings ahead of the inaugural EA conference in early May 2022”. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
Farmers have until next Tuesday, March 15, to take part in a survey of unfair trading practices they have experienced.
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said the survey findings will help the Enforcement Authority be put in place in Ireland after the EU Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Directive was transposed into Irish law.
These first steps in outlawing 16 unfair practices in the food business come as IFA President Tim Cullinan warned of a significant threat to the viability of pig, poultry, horticulture and potato farmers, due to dominant retailers leaving an ever-tightening profit margin for farmers.
“This can be almost exclusively attributed to the lower price paid by big retail buyers to their end suppliers, forcing primary producers out of business.
Mr Cullinan said the Government must stop below-cost selling. However, below-cost selling is not one of the 16 unfair trading practices prohibited by the EU legislation which is now in Irish law.
Completely prohibited are:
- Payment later than 30 days for perishable agricultural and food products;
- Payment later than 60 days for other agricultural and food products;
- Short-notice cancellations of perishable agricultural and food products;
- Unilateral contract changes by the buyer;
- Payment not being related to a specific transaction;
- Risk of loss and deterioration transferred to the supplier;
- The refusal of written confirmation of a supply agreement by the buyer, if requested by the supplier;
- Misuse of trade secrets by the buyer;
- Commercial retaliation by the buyer; and
- Transferring the costs of examining customer complaints to the supplier.
Also prohibited unless the parties agree clearly and unambiguously beforehand are the buyer returning unsold products to the supplier without paying for them; and payment by the supplier for stocking, display, listing, promotion, marketing; advertising, or for any work by the buyer’s staff.
Regulations prohibiting these UTPs have been applicable since July 2021 to supply agreements established since April 28, 2021, and will apply to all supply agreements from April 28, 2022.
Through an online survey, farmers and fishers can now inform the UTP Enforcement Authority about any unfair practices they face in the food supply chain.
The Enforcement Authority has been assigned all the necessary legal powers to investigate complaints from suppliers of agricultural and food products, to carry out investigations, and to initiate legal proceedings for breaches of the unfair trading practices.
The Minister said: “The survey results will be processed anonymously by an independent market research company and I look forward to receiving the findings ahead of the inaugural EA conference in early May 2022”.
The survey can be completed at www.utp.gov.ie/ and will remain open until March 15, 2022.
The Enforcement Authority established the utp.gov.ie website which includes how suppliers can make a complaint to it.
Further legislation is required to provide for functions that go beyond the powers laid down in the EU’s UTP Directive and to set up a National Food Ombudsman. Minister McConalogue said this legislation is being prepared as a priority matter.
