Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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187. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the EU Report on the food supply chain was discussed at the recent Council of Agriculture Ministers; if so, the outcome of such discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38004/16]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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188. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the recent EU report on the food supply chain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38005/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 188 together.

The Report of the Agricultural Markets Task Force entitled "Farming the future in Europe - an examination of the position of farmers in the food supply chain and ways to improve it" was presented at the Council of Agriculture Ministers in November. Council conclusions on the issue are expected to be adopted in December, and the Commission has undertaken to consider the report's recommendations in the context of its Work Programme for 2017.

The report examines a range of issues such as market transparency, risk management, futures markets and trading practices, and makes a series of recommendations with a view to strengthening the position of farmers across the supply chain.  The recommendations include consideration of the introduction of an EU-wide legislative framework for unfair trading practices, the development of futures markets, increasing market transparency and the mandatory inclusion by Member States of actions promoting on-farm risk management strategies under their Rural Development Programmes.

I very much welcome the report by the Markets Task Force.  I believe that the prerequisite for a sustainable food supply chain is free and fair competition, accompanied by balanced relationships between all of the entities along the chain. It is very important that all operators acknowledge their interdependence with each other. This means that they need to work together to develop a model which sustains agricultural production, without which none of the downstream industrial or service sectors could exist.

Regarding the report’s recommendations, I believe that an EU-wide framework would represent the correct approach to dealing with unfair trading practices. Our own experience with the new Grocery Goods Regulations, which entered into force at the end of April this year following extensive consultation, demonstrated that a voluntary regime would not have the confidence of all stakeholders. We have also learned from our experience of agri-food legislation on safety, traceability and quality that the Single Market requires legislative frameworks to function well and freely. 

However, changes to the legislative framework are unlikely to be enough.  Supply chain imbalances invariably become a focal point in periods of increased volatility.  Measures to reduce costs, improve competitiveness and support innovation will also be required in order to improve sustainability.  Efforts in this regard can be industry-led but ideally should have cross-stakeholder buy-in.

I also welcome the report’s recommendations in relation to improving market transparency.  Price monitoring is limited by the lack of availability of data and models. While producer returns at primary level are quite well publicised and retail prices are known, there is little data on the basis on which they are constructed. The establishment of price monitoring platforms and deeper input to these platforms by Member States, as suggested in the report, is useful and is something we can support.

The findings of the report are still being reviewed and consideration is now being given to the introduction of practical and sensible measures at an appropriate level. I and my Department will engage constructively with this process.