FoodDrinkEurope shares the European Commission’s views that the early stages of the Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) Directive showed encouraging progress in combating UTPs but more action is needed for a truly fair and competitive food chain.
The European Commission’s evaluation report rightly acknowledges that imbalances in the food chain persist, resulting in the continued occurrence of UTPs. These growing imbalances are backed by FoodDrinkEurope’s 2025 member survey, in which 62% of food and drink companies reported an increase in UTPs over the past five years. We call on EU policymakers to strengthen and harmonise the enforcement of the Directive to remedy the shortcomings identified in the evaluation report.
Whilst the report highlights the importance of awareness raising among farmers and suppliers about their rights and remedies against abuses, the fear of retaliation remains a major barrier preventing suppliers from actually reporting such abuses, especially in sectors with high buyer concentration and buyer dependency.
Additionally, the report found a diversity of rules implemented at national level, with 13 countries having already removed the €350 million turnover threshold and thus rightly extending the Directive’s protection to more suppliers but this needs to be extended across all Member States, to protect all enterprises regardless of size.
FoodDrinkEurope shares the European Commission’s ask for greater consistency in the way UTPs are combated across the EU. We urge EU policymakers to expand the blacklist of banned practices to address emerging challenges like retail alliances, harmonise enforcement, and extend the scope of the Directive by eliminating the €350 million threshold. These steps are essential to address power imbalances and deliver a fairer, more resilient supply chain.
