The EU Agri-food Chain Observatory (AFCO) held its first meeting on Wednesday 17 July, and will continue its work with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the functioning of the supply chain and providing greater transparency on prices, cost structures and the distribution of margins and added value, while respecting the rules of confidentiality and competition.
The launch of this observatory was first announced in March 2024 as one of the measures to strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain, and thus respond to their anger (see EUROPE 13414/3). The second plenary meeting will be held in the autumn.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, opened the inaugural meeting of this observatory by outlining the objectives of the work. During this first meeting, an initial mapping of available data on prices, costs and added value was presented, and members had an initial exchange of views on the situation of the agri-food supply chain in the EU.
The Observatory’s members are representatives from the EU27 countries’ national authorities and 48 stakeholder organisations operating in the agri-food supply chain. These range from farmers to input providers, the food industry, traders, transport, logistics, the retail trade and consumers. The European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee have observer status.
Link to the Commissioner’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/d2h (Original version inn French by Lionel Changeur)