NFU President Meurig Raymond will call for a European equivalent of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) to tackle unfair trading practices across boarders today.  The GCA office was introduced in 2012, though the watchdog was without powers for over two years under the last Coalition government.   

The NFU President will be speaking at a food supply chain seminar held by the European Conservatives and Reformists on Wednesday, at which the current GCA Christine Tacon is also set to speak.    

He will say British farmers need to have the same kind of protection they enjoy domestically when they trade abroad.

Ahead of the speech, Mr Raymond said the NFU is pushing for continued access to European markets as Brexit negotiations continue. Late on Tuesday, Mr Raymond said, “As well as strong regulation at a European level we wish to see an independent enforcement office, such as the GCA introduced. I know there are many who fear that this will lead to overzealous European regulation – but implemented in a proper way this will give producers the security and confidence they so badly need.
 
“The purpose of this is to give suppliers the confidence to highlight unfair trading practices in a confidential way. This confidentiality is crucial as submitting evidence on unfair trading practices can be very damaging for a supplier, if this information is within the public domain. British farmers, like many across Europe want to be competitive and wish to operate on a global stage. “
 
He added, “The UK farming unions were disappointed that President Juncker failed to mention this vital issue in his State of the European Union last week. This is a clear example of an area where European oversight is badly needed and we urge the Commission to come forward with legislation providing meaningful protection for Europe’s farmers and shoppers.”