Brussels, 07/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption in Strasbourg on Tuesday 7 July of the report by Nuno Melo (EPP, Portugal) on the fruit and vegetables sector since the 2007 reform, the European Parliament called on the Commission “to intensify efforts to tackle unfair trading practices in the food supply chain”.
It says that unfair trading practices and the pressure exerted on producers by the large retail chains are the main obstacle to fruit and vegetable farmers earning a decent income. MEPs want the Commission to establish clear EU rules governing the principles of good practice in the food supply chain to ensure a common interpretation of the rules as regards unfair trading practices. Parliament highlights the advantages of direct selling (as an alternative to supermarkets).
Producer organisations (POs). Parliament notes that the degree of organisation in the sector, as measured by the share of the total value of fruit and vegetable production marketed by POs, has steadily increased in recent years in the EU as a whole but that this increase can be attributed to only some of the member states. It emphasises that the degree of organisation among producers “remains low on average”, and considerably below the EU average in certain member states, and that addressing this problem is crucial for the future of the fruit and vegetable regime.
Parliament calls for an increase in the overall level of aid to POs. It asks the Commission to restore financial support for the investments of newly established fruit and vegetable POs. It considers that support is one of the most efficient tools to develop organisations and increase the rate of organisation.
Furthermore, Parliament underlines the need to help POs increase their exports and to be involved in researching new foreign markets.
Parliament is concerned that the largest POs (about 18% of all POs, with a turnover of more than €20 million) receive about 70% of EU financial assistance.
It urges the Commission to intensify its efforts in trade negotiations with third countries for the removal of the tariff and plant health barriers imposed on European productions, thereby making it possible to open up new markets for Community fruit and vegetables.
Crisis measures. Parliament urges the Commission to devise a better coordinated mechanism for market withdrawals in crisis situations, in order to prevent market crises from turning into serious and lengthy disturbances resulting in significant falls in income for fruit and vegetable farmers.
MEPs take the view that use of the withdrawal mechanism has proved to be limited and consider that crisis management measures should be reviewed, including by increasing the percentage of EU financial assistance, adjusting withdrawal prices, taking into account production costs, increasing the volumes that can be withdrawn, and improving the support, in terms of transport and packaging, for the free distribution of fruits and vegetables with a view to providing the flexibility to adapt support to the form and severity of each crisis.
It also asks the Commission to consider making contributions to mutual funds eligible as crisis prevention and management measures in order to provide better protection for farmers in case of market crises which cause substantial drops in income. Parliament considers, however, that these funds must never come from the budget item allocated to agriculture and rural development by the Commission when the crisis is caused by issues unconnected with the sector, such as the Russian ban.
Parliament feels that producers should not have to bear the cost of crises caused by circumstances that are unconnected with the agricultural sector, such as the Russian ban on EU exports, which has seriously affected many European fruit and vegetable producers and has even worsened market crisis situations, in, for example, the stone fruits sector. It asks that, in such circumstances, EU support measures to be kept in place for as long as necessary until the normal market situation is fully re-established.
Lastly, Parliament urges the Commission to reinforce the aid scheme in place for distributing fruit, vegetables and milk in schools, given the importance of promoting healthy and balanced diets from a very young age, and to bring young consumers closer to local producers. (Lionel Changeur)