UK needs to follow EU lead and stop unfair trading practices

This month EU leaders are expected to sign off on a new law to tackle unfair trading practices in farming supply chains.

Unfair treatment can include cancelling orders at the last minute and failing to pay on time. As Sustain member Traidcraft explains, these practices create insecure incomes and poverty amongst farmers, with 96% of food businesses experiencing unfair commercial practices.

The Unfair Trading Practices Directive will result in small farmers and medium-sized producers in the EU having increased protection from bullying by big food buyers. Sustain's Sustainable Farming Campaign Coordinator, Vicki Hird, believes that it is imperative that the UK introduces similar measures:

“The new Farm Minister responsible for supply chain regulation, Robert Goodwill MP, needs to look afresh at this Directive and introduce equivalent measures into UK law rather than suggesting we don’t need them. Farmers and growers selling in the UK need to have the same protection from unfair practices here – such as late payments, cancelled orders or unexpected payments - as they will when selling into EU grocery supply chains.

"We also need the Fair Dealing clause in the UK Agriculture Bill to be strengthened so that the Minister will definitely deliver new statutory contracts and so they will apply along the supply chain not just to first purchasers.

"These are vital measures for farmers so they can farm sustainably and with good animal welfare as we enter a highly uncertain era of new global trade deals and major shifts in the food industry such as further concentration in retail.”