Unfair trading practices in the food chain

Unfair trading practices explained

Unfair trading practices (UTPs) in business-to-business relationships deviate from good commercial conduct and are contrary to good faith and fair dealing. The food supply chain is vulnerable to unfair trading practices due to stark imbalances between small and large operators. Farmers and small operators in the food supply chain often do not have sufficient bargaining power to defend against them.

The European Union therefore decided to improve the protection of farmers – as well as of small and medium sized suppliers – and provide mandatory rules that outlaw certain unfair trading practices.

The EU Directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain was adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 17 April 2019. EU countries were required to transpose the Directive into national law by 1 May 2021 and apply it six months later.

This is part of a wider governance agenda, which aims to achieve a more efficient and fairer food supply chain, and which also includes producer cooperation and measures to enhance market transparency. The Farm to Fork Strategy is also designed to contribute to improving farmers’ position in the food supply chain.

Combatting unfair trading practices

To improve the position of both farmers and small and medium sized businesses in the food supply chain, the EU has adopted legislation that bans 16 unfair trading practices. This Directive distinguishes between 'black' and 'grey' practices. Whereas black unfair trading practices are prohibited, whatever the circumstances, grey practices are allowed if the supplier and the buyer agree on them beforehand in a clear and unambiguous manner.

Ten black unfair trading practices

• Payments later than 30 days for perishable agricultural and food products
• Payment later than 60 days for other agri-food products
• Short-notice cancellations of perishable agri-food products
• Unilateral contract changes by the buyer
• Payments not related to a specific transaction
• Risk of loss and deterioration transferred to the supplier
• Refusal of a written confirmation of a supply agreement by the buyer, despite request from the supplier
• Misuse of trade secrets by the buyer
• Commercial retaliation by the buyer
• Transferring the costs of examining customer complaints to the supplier

Six grey unfair trading practices

These are allowed only if agreed beforehand in a clear and unambiguous manner.

• Return of unsold products
• Payment of the supplier for stocking, display and listing
• Payment of the supplier for promotion
• Payment of the supplier for marketing
• Payment of the supplier for advertising
• Payment of the supplier for staff of the buyer, fitting out premises

The Directive provides minimum harmonisation on unfair trading practices in all EU countries. This will ensure a level playing field on those practices, which were identified as the most problematic.

Key rules of the Directive

Protection of weaker suppliers against stronger buyers

The Directive provides for the protection of weaker suppliers against stronger buyers, which includes any supplier of agricultural and food products with a turnover of up to €350 million with differentiated levels of protection provided below that threshold. This covers farmers, producer organisations and distributors below the threshold. This also applies to suppliers and buyers located outside the EU, provided one of the parties is located within the EU.

National transposition

When transposing the Directive into their national law, EU countries could choose to be stricter than the Directive and go beyond its scope. However, they could not offer less protection than that foreseen by the Directive.

The Commission published an interim report on the state of the transposition and implementation of the Directive in October 2021. By December 2022, all EU countries had transposed the Directive into national law. An updated report and a linked Staff working document published in April 2024 now provide insights into the transposition choices of all 27 Member States.

Enforcement authorities

Each EU country has designated a competent authority to enforce these rules. These authorities must have the power to both launch investigations and fine operators who break the rules.

Complaints

The Directive contains measures, including the protection of the complainants, to help weaker suppliers exercise their rights. They can choose which enforcement authority they want to file a complaint with: their national authority, or the authority of the EU country, where the buyer is located.

Evaluation of the Directive

To assess the effectiveness of measures taken by Member States, an evaluation of the EU Directive 2019/633 at EU level will be available end of 2025. To feed into this evaluation, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development conduct annual surveys across all EU countries.

The results from previous years' surveys can be found here: Results of the UTP surveys.

• News article
• 23 April 2024

Commission delivers report on the implementation of EU rules against unfair trading practices in the food supply chain

The report on the implementation of the Directive on unfair trading practices in the food supply chain was one of the Commission’s commitments to strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain.

Documents