Martijn van de Hel, Judith Jansen and Saskia Stolk assisted Vion Farming B.V. ("Vion") in securing a commitment decision from the Authority for Consumers & Markets ("ACM").
Vion is one of the largest meat producers in the Netherlands and has contracts with pig farmers. These contracts set out the conditions and price system under which Vion purchases pigs from the farmers. The ACM's investigation found that provisions in these contracts are at odds with the Unfair Trading Practices in the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act (UTP Act). The purpose of this act is to strengthen the negotiating position of food suppliers vis-à-vis larger market players.
Vion has agreed to the ACM to change pig farmers' contracts only by mutual consent from now on. In addition, pig farmers have the option not to agree to a new contract, without the possibility of Vion terminating the current agreement immediately. Moreover, if pig farmers do not agree, they are not bound by the one-year notice period. Vion itself, however, is still bound by this notice period. According to the ACM, this will strengthen the bargaining position of pig farmers.
After assessing the commitment application, the ACM accepted and declared the commitment binding in a decision on 12 March 2024. The ACM's investigation into a possible violation by Vion of the UTP Act has thus ended.
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