The farmers’ protests of late 2023 and 2024 were a serious signal that farmers are at their last straw. Their grievances about rising production costs, powerful and domineering retailers, debt and climate change must have been heard by EU decision-makers. Actions taken in the last years, such as the Unfair Trading Practices Directive, while very welcome, are insufficient to address the uncertainty farmers face with regard to their livelihoods. Farmers are requesting fair prices and protection mechanisms against their fragile position within the food chain. 

Urgent reform is thus necessary. We urge the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to undertake an urgent revision of the UTP Directive and take immediate action to ban the purchasing of agricultural production under the cost of sustainable production and selling at a loss throughout the supply chain. The blacklist of Unfair Trading Practices of the Directive offers an excellent framework to do so. After all: “It is vital that farmers have a fair and sufficient income.