Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: EC seeks comments on joint selling in the agricultural sector, (Jan 15, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

The European Commission (EC) is seeking public comments on new draft guidelines on the application of EU antitrust rules in the agricultural sector. The new rules come after the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was reformed, allowing producers of olive oil, beef, veal livestock, and arable crops to jointly commercialize these products if certain conditions are met. “The Commission’s guidelines will contribute to ensuring that the implementation of the CAP reform improves the functioning of the food supply chain and safeguards effective competition and innovation on the markets for agricultural products,” the EC announced today.

Under the new EU CAP rules, in order for producers to jointly commercialize olive oil, beef, veal, and arable crops through producer organizations or associations of producer organizations: (1) the organizations should make farmers “significantly more efficient” through the provision of supporting services like storage, distribution, and transport; and (2) the quantity marketed by the organization may not exceed certain thresholds.

The EC’s draft guidelines set forth how the new EU CAP rules can best be used to increase investment and growth, while preserving a level playing field for all operators in the single market. Specifically, the guidelines provide: (1) examples on how producer organizations can provide services that offer significant efficiencies for farmers; (2) guidance on how producer organizations can stay within certain production volume limits; and (3) situations in which competition authorities may apply a safeguard clause and have joint commercialization contracts by a producer organization reopened or canceled.

Comments headlined “CAP Reform—Guidelines” may be emailed to COMP-E-TF-FOOD@ec.europa.eu until May 5, 2015. The EC has also invited interested parties to register and attend a conference on March 4, 2015, which will gather stakeholders, National Competition Authorities, and Ministries of Agriculture.

News: Antitrust