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The Commission is publishing its report summarising the main findings of the first evaluation of the Directive on unfair trading practices (UTPs) in the agricultural and food supply chain. The evaluation results show that, although still in its early years, the Directive is already helping to promote a fairer and more balanced business environment in the agri-food chain across the EU. The evaluation report will feed directly into the Commission’s reflection, as it plans to review the rules on unfair trading practices. This review will assess how to better protect farmers against unfair trading practices and notably to address the situation that they should not be forced to systematically sell their products below production costs.
Although the evaluation of the Directive did not yet provide clear conclusions about how effective it is, there are encouraging signs of preventing and combating UTPs, with greater trust in the agri-food chain having contributed to a more responsible business culture. It confirms that the legislation remains relevant for addressing the challenges faced by farmers and small suppliers, who often hold weaker bargaining power in the agri-food chain.
Overall, the number of investigations and enforcement actions by national authorities gradually increased, with more than 4 500 investigations opened between 2021 and 2024. About one third of investigations closed between 2021 and 2024 found an infringement, resulting in 754 cases and €41.9 million in fines between 2022 and 2024, showing an upward trend and growing institutional engagement with UTPs. At the same time, survey data suggest that farmers and suppliers report a low number of UTPs in particular due to continued fear of retaliation. Producer organisations and other supplier organisations, including those from third countries, could play a stronger role in supporting individual suppliers and filing complaints on their behalf. The report also notes that proactive investigations are still underused by national enforcement authorities. At the same time, anonymous tip-offs have proven to be a valuable source, helping national enforcement authorities with investigations. All these findings must be seen in the context of the relatively short period since the Directive has been in force.
The report highlights areas where further progress is needed. Awareness of the Directive among farmers and smaller suppliers and access to information still need to be improved. Cooperation between national enforcement authorities on cross-border cases could be further strengthened. The Commission has already acted on this issue, and its recent proposal, for which political agreement was reached by the co-legislators on 10 November, is a step towards enhancing cross-border enforcement against unfair trading practices.
December 1, 2025/ European Commission/ European Union.
https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu
