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Adopted text

Strengthening of the position of farmers in the food supply chain

TA-10-2025-0214 · P10_TA(2025)0214 · PE772.032

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Parliament's amended version of the proposed regulation strengthens farmers' position in the food supply chain by regulating terms like 'fair' and 'short supply chain', extending written contract requirements, and enhancing producer organisations' bargaining power. It also introduces measures on price transparency, contract revision, mediation, and market support, and amends CAP regulations to increase funding flexibility and support for producer organisations.

Key points

  1. Terms like 'fair' and 'short supply chain' may be used only with prior consent of farmers or their organisations, and 'short supply chain' requires direct connection or limited intermediaries and geographic proximity.
  2. Written contracts become mandatory for deliveries of agricultural products, with exceptions for small values (threshold lowered to EUR 4 000) and micro/small enterprises, but farmers can still request contracts.
  3. Contracts must include price calculated with objective factors covering full production costs, and revision clauses for contracts over six months (12 for future-traded sectors) triggered by unforeseen circumstances.
  4. Mediation mechanisms must be established by Member States, voluntary and impartial, and Member States may require contract registration where justified.
  5. Producer organisations and associations can negotiate contracts for members, with volume limits of 33% national or 5% Union production, and non-recognised organisations can do so within five years of applying for recognition.
  6. Purchasers are prohibited from directly approaching members to circumvent producer organisations, and producer organisation statutes must ensure concentration of supply.
  7. Public procurement must source from Union agricultural products, prioritising geographical indications, and imports must comply with EU pesticide residue limits.
  8. Market disturbance prevention plans are to be drawn up by the Commission, and support measures for voluntary production reduction are introduced when prices fall below a threshold set by AFCO.
  9. The agricultural reserve can support collective actions during severe market imbalance, without compromising direct payments, and other Union funding may be used.
  10. CAP Strategic Plans may use up to 6% of direct payment allocations for other sectors, and the 50% co-financing limit for young farmers is raised to 70%.
  11. New definitions and marketing standards are added for vinegar, hemp, and meat products, reserving meat names for products containing meat.

Who is affected

  • Farmers and their organisations: gain stronger bargaining power, mandatory written contracts, and protection from unfair practices.
  • Purchasers, processors, distributors, retailers: must comply with contract requirements and are prohibited from circumventing producer organisations.
  • Member States: must establish mediation mechanisms and may require contract registration, with flexibility to exempt certain sectors.
  • Producer organisations and cooperatives: can negotiate on behalf of members, with recognition criteria eased.
  • Importers of agricultural products: must meet EU pesticide residue standards and hemp import conditions.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 4 000 threshold for exempting deliveries from written contract requirement.
  • 5 working days for simultaneous delivery and payment exemption.
  • 33% of national production or 5% of Union production limit for association negotiations.
  • 6 months (12 for future-traded sectors) minimum duration triggering revision clause.
  • 70% increase in co-financing limit for young farmers' investments.
  • 6% of direct payment allocations may be used for other sectors.
  • 100 000 EUR standard output threshold for small farms.