The informal agreement reached by the co-legislators seeks to ensure that the final prices of food products reflect multiple factors, notably the actual costs of production that are borne by farmers and that have a direct impact on their income. Among the agreed measures, member states would be required to establish and publish online indicators to be used as benchmarks in contractual arrangements.

The agreed text also includes provisions to reinforce the role of producer organisations (POs) in market organisation and collective bargaining, such as having POs engage directly with buyers and setting up rules to prevent buyers from contacting individual producers directly.

Labelling and marketing

The provisional agreement clarifies use of the terms “fair” or “equitable” for agricultural products and lists the criteria for allowing such labelling. Thanks to Parliament’s negotiators, such criteria would, for instance, include a product’s contribution to rural community…