Article 149 Contractual negotiations in the milk and milk products sector

United Kingdom

A producer organisation in the milk and milk products sector which is recognised under Article 161(1) may negotiate on behalf of its farmer members, in respect of part or all of their joint production, contracts for the delivery of raw milk by a farmer to a processor of raw milk, or to a collector F2....

F31A.

For the purposes of this Article, a “collector” means an undertaking which transports raw milk from a farmer or another collector to a processor of raw milk or another collector, where the ownership of the raw milk is transferred in each case.

The negotiations by the producer organisation may take place:

(a)

whether or not there is a transfer of ownership of the raw milk by the farmers to the producer organisation;

(b)

whether or not the price negotiated is the same as regards the joint production of some or all of the farmer members;

(c)

provided that, for a particular producer organisation, all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i)
F4...
(ii)
the volume of raw milk covered by such negotiations which is produced in F5the United Kingdom does not exceed 33% of total production in the United Kingdom, and
(iii)
the volume of raw milk covered by such negotiations which is delivered in F6the United Kingdom does not exceed 33% of total production in the United Kingdom;

(d)

provided that the farmers concerned are not members of any other producer organisation which also negotiates such contracts on their behalf; however, F7the Secretary of State may derogate from this condition in duly justified cases where farmers hold two distinct production units located in different geographic areas;

(e)

provided that the raw milk is not covered by an obligation to deliver arising from the farmer's membership of a cooperative in accordance with the conditions set out in the cooperative's statutes or the rules and decisions provided for in or derived from these statutes; and

(f)

provided that the producer organisation notifies the F8Competition and Markets Authority of the volume of raw milk covered by such negotiations.

F93.

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For the purposes of this Article, references to producer organisations include associations of such producer organisations.

F105.

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By way of derogation from point (c) of paragraph 2 F11..., even where the thresholds set out therein are not exceeded, the F12Competition and Markets Authority may decide in an individual case that a particular negotiation by the producer organisation should either be reopened or should not take place at all if it considers that this is necessary in order to prevent competition from being excluded or in order to avoid seriously damaging SME processors of raw milk in its territory.

F13...

The decisions referred to in this paragraph shall not apply earlier than the date of their notification to the undertakings concerned.

For the purposes of this Article:

F14(a)

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(b)

a "SME" means a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

F158.

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