Law 12/2013, which includes measures to improve the functioning of the food chain, allows Spain to have a pioneering legislation in the field of commercial relationships between operators in the food chain. It pursues two main goals that are important for AILIMPO: preventing imbalance in trade relations between operators in the chain, and establishing a framework of fair competition that can benefit the agro-food industry in general.
For AILIMPO, the first and most important pillar of this law is the obligation to formalise contracts in writing. In fact, for the current 2015/2016 marketing campaign, AILIMPO proceeded, in a pioneering way, to revise and update the text of the interprofessional's model contracts. These contracts were approved by the Magrama after Ailimpo's request and were published in the Official Gazette. This way, producers, traders and processing industries devoted to lemons and grapefruit have an official contract model which is the best guarantee of compliance with the law.
The code sets the obligation to use the approved model contracts previously approved by the interprofessional. For AILIMPO, "adherence to the code is proof of the maturity of the lemon and grapefruit sector; for this reason, the interprofessional is determined to persuade producers, traders and industries to join this project."
A second pillar of this law is the Code of Good Market Practices on Food Contracts, published in the Official Gazette on 18 December. It is a voluntary self-regulatory element of the chain, which complements the provisions established by the law. AILIMPO has formally asked the Magrama for adhesion to this code as national interprofessional organization for the lemon and grapefruit sector. Thus AILIMPO reiterates its commitment to Law 12/2013 and the model contracts.
For AILIMPO, "this is certainly an instrument in which high hopes have been placed, as it is intended to help improve trade relations in the food chain. Its success will be largely determined by whether a significant number of business operators adhere to it; that is, whether we manage to convince a majority of producers, cooperatives, traders, industries and distribution chains to join this project."
Adherence to the code entails publicly demonstrating a commitment to order, to working in tandem in order to allow all links in the complex structure of the food chain to improve, and to eliminate short-term strategies based on gaining at the expense of others, giving way to a win-win scenario for everyone.
Advantages of adherence to this code
The producer, cooperative or industry exporter will appear in an official register of the Magrama, which will run a specific website that will give publicity to all adhered operators. Once registered, operators will be able to state that they are "Adhering to the Code of Good Market Practices on Food Contracts", and use the appropriate official logo that will be created by the Ministry of Agriculture. Moreover, the registration of operators in this register will ensure that they are taken into account in the rules governing aid and subsidies handled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
In short, as noted by Ailimpo, "it is an instrument of differentiation and prestige before the Government and within the sector."
About AILIMPO
Ailimpo is an interprofessional organization, based in Murcia, officially recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Commission, which represents the economic interests of producers, cooperatives, exporters and processors of lemons and grapefruit in Spain. This is a sector with an average production of 1,000,000 tonnes, from which 750,000 tonnes go to the fresh market and 250,000 tonnes are processed, with an average turnover of over 700 million Euro. In the 2014/2015 campaign, 650,000 tonnes of lemons were exported to over 80 countries.