France: the Minister of Agriculture reasserts its commitment with the pig producers

The Minister of Agriculture of France, Mr. Stéphane Le Foll, closed the French Pig Producers' National Federation General Assembly (FNP), and answered the worries of this sector, notified by the president of the FNP, Paul Auffray.

The French Minister appealed to the mobilisation of all the players, especially in the processing and distribution sectors, that allows to reach a profitable level of prices for the producers.

With the aim of improving the situation in the sector, among other things:

• The Minister signed, together with the Minister of Economy, a decree that was published last week in the Official Journal, and that regulates promotions for the first time, because although they are positive at the end of the summer and before the New Year's holidays, if they are permanent they become negative.
• The Minister also reaffirmed that the penalties for unfair trade practices had been toughened.
• The trademark "Le porc français" must be strengthened.
• Lastly, the Minister has agreed on the reflections of the President of the FNP with respect to the contractual relationships to check the price formation and the contractual relationships, thus being able to lay the foundations of a new model.