Defra’s supply chain review: next steps
Between December 2023 and February 2024, Defra conducted a public consultation exploring contractual relationships in the UK fresh produce sector.
The consultation aimed to understand whether contract reform could provide greater certainty to fresh produce producers and others in the supply chain, by ensuring that clear terms and conditions are established in contractual agreements and improving access to data.
134 responses were received and Defra have now outlined their intentions for next steps:
We have heard and understood the concerns raised by those that responded to this consultation, and which are summarised in this document. The UK government will commence work developing draft regulations for fresh produce contracts, using the regulation making power in section 29 of the Agriculture Act 2020. To do this, we will work with industry as we develop these regulations.
These regulations will propose that written agreements are used between all producers and their buyers. We will work closely with industry to explore the details and provisions that should be mandatory or prohibited as part of these agreements, and the regulatory needs of individual fresh produce sub-sectors.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that legislation works for all parts of the UK and incorporate special provision for differing circumstances, if necessary.
We will work with industry to further explore the suggestions on data collection and publishing that came up in the consultation. We will continue to explore this with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
We will work with the Department for Business and Trade, and the Competition and Markets Authority on findings relating to the Grocery Code Adjudicator (GCA) and the Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP).
To read the full summary of responses and intentions visit the Defra Consultation Outcome page.