madam president first of all i want to thank the rapporteur mr bové for his work on this report
the food supply chain is extraordinarily complex with so many different factors impacting on how it operates
i believe it needs delicate handling so that we do not end up enforcing the law of unintended consequences
there is a problem a real problem
we know this from our own member states
indeed a recent survey in ireland revealed that seventy-four of consumers believe that farmers do not receive a fair price for their produce
in ireland farmers receive approximately thirty-three of the retail price of milk fifty of the retail price of beef and twenty of the retail price of cheese
but we also know this is true at eu level as commission research explicitly shows that since nineteen ninety-five the only actors in the food supply chain whose share of the retail price has been decreasing are the primary producers or the farmers
this cannot continue to happen
if it does we will lose many of our primary producers and then what happens to eu food security and food sovereignty
we must deal with these issues in the context of the cap
the food supply chain is not functioning properly and farmers are not receiving fair revenues
i disagree with mr fox on one point there is in my view a case of market failure and some intervention is needed but the crucial question is to know what interventions we should make
the commission i believe needs to investigate and where necessary take action against anti-competitive behaviour
there is no doubt that contractual imbalances associated with unequal bargaining power have a negative effect on competitiveness in the food supply chain particularly for the smaller actors
the asymmetry in bargaining power that exists between the different contracting parties to which the commissioner referred can often lead to a situation where larger and more powerful actors seek to impose contractual arrangements to their advantage
in simple terms the small guys get squeezed
a very interesting point that has not featured in this discussion but is of relevance is that there is ample evidence that we are exporting our unfair trading practices to developing countries where huge eu-based multinationals abuse their dominant position in the marketplace
in that context i believe we need a global response
i support voluntary contracts rather than compulsory ones and the establishment in all member states of an eu ombudsman
on a personal level i disagree with below-cost selling
finally i am pleased to hear the comments of the commissioner and i applaud his proposals
this is a complex issue and requires a multi-faceted approach
