European farmers and agri-food worker organisations have written an open letter to members of the European Commission to 'demand' the purchasing of prices below production cost be added to the blacklist of the Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) directive.

The letter was sent by members of the European Milk Board (EMB); European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Union (EFFAT); and the European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) Coordinating Committee.

The groups jointly called upon the EU Institutions to take the 'quick and concrete measure' to ensure fair incomes for farmers and agri-food workers and to improve their living and working conditions.

MORE NEWS | Average calf to beef farm made €65/ac net margin in 2023

MORE NEWS | Making Scotch Lamb the star of the show

The letter was forwarded to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen; President of the Agrifish Council, István Nagy; and President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

EMB president, Kjartan Poulsen said: “If the EU does not send the important signal now and push ahead with the legal transposition, then both the remaining producers and the young generation will lose faith that they can have a future in agricultural production.

“And with this loss of faith, the EU will continue to lose many of its producers, which will be disastrous for our food production.”

The letter states that agricultural income in the EU remains below the average for the rest of the economy in almost all Member States, at just 47% of average gross wages and salaries in the EU economy.

ECVC farmer and coordinating committee member, Andoni Garcia Arriola said: “Words are not enough to support farmers and workers whose incomes are far below the average income of the population in the EU and are not enough to continue producing food.

“Immediate action must be taken to respond to this situation and to build the ‘culture of collaboration’ that von der Leyen claims to want.”

The signatories of the letter also requested a meeting with president von der Leyen in order to further discuss measures to ensure farmers receive fair prices.