Open letter: European farmer and agri-food worker organisations and trade unions demand a fast-track procedure to include purchasing at prices below production cost on the black list of UTP Directive

This is why we, as European organisations that represent agricultural producers, farmers and agri-food workers, demand a fast-track procedure be initiated by the end of the year to insert purchasing agricultural and food products under the cost of production in the Unfair Trading Practices - UTP Directive black list.

This should be the first agricultural policy measure taken by the EU institutions once the European Commission starts its new mandate and the Commissioner for Agriculture starts their role.

This urgent procedure is fully in line with the legislation already in place in many European countries to outlaw the purchase of agricultural and food products at prices below their production costs. This will guarantee all European farmers much-needed financial security. The crises in the sector need concrete and prompt responses and we cannot wait for the broader UTP reform (which will only start in 2025).

A fast-track procedure is needed to send a positive signal from the EU institutions to all the European farmers and agricultural workers who mobilised just a few months ago, until the broader reform can happen.

After many years of suffering for farmers and agri-food workers, during which living and working conditions have constantly deteriorated, the EU can and must now act in order to ensure a decent future for rural areas, in line with the EU principle of territorial cohesion and the basic human right to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families.