DAERA Minister welcomes progress on fair dealing

DAERA Minister Andrew Muir has welcomed recent progress made in improving transparency and fairness in UK producer and buyer relationships.

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The Minister’s comments came in response to announcement of the UK government’s plans to introduce further legislation on contractual relationships in the pig, egg and fresh produce sectors at the Farm to Fork Summit on 14 May 2024.

Speaking today, Minister Muir said: “Our farmers and growers are the backbone of a sustainable farming system. They need certainty and stability to help them plan ahead, produce high quality food and play their part in meeting the environmental and social challenges we all face. 

“That is why I welcome recent action by Defra to improve transparency and fairness in agri-food supply chains across the UK. I appreciate there are examples where relationships between producers and their buyers work well. Nevertheless, it is important that minimum standards are set, and that farmers and growers have the scope to challenge bad practice, when things go wrong. I therefore welcome recent Defra legislation mandating written contracts in the dairy sector and the UK government’s commitment to make similar regulations for the pig, egg and fresh produce sectors.”

The UK Prime Minister also announced the appointment of Richard Thompson as the first UK Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator to oversee enforcement of the UK contracts regulations.

The Minister concluded: “My officials will continue to work closely with their counterparts in Defra, and the Scottish and Welsh governments to ensure any contracts legislation works for the whole of the UK and to explore the contribution my Department can make to ensuring a more level playing field for everyone in the supply chain.” 

Notes to editors: 

1. The UK government led a series of UK-wide reviews of the dairy (2020), pig (2022), egg (2023) and fresh produce sectors (2023/24), seeking evidence about how supply chain arrangements in those sectors function and whether legislation was needed to improve these.
2. Download the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 . They will begin to apply from 9 July 2024.
3. Download the Summary of responses to the UK consultation on contractual relations in the pig sector 
4. Download the Summary of Responses to the UK consultation on contractual relations in the egg sector.
5. Download the Summary of Responses to the UK consultation on contractual relations in the fresh produce sector.
6. All media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office.
7. Further information on Richard Thompson is available via LinkedIn.
8. Follow DAERA on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
9. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800 hrs and 0800 hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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