News Summons FDF
Supermarket and farmer FDF not closer together
The Central Food Bureau (CBL) and the Farmers Defense Force (FDF) did not come closer together in summary proceedings of 16 December. Although the two parties were unable to reach an agreement, even after the judge's insistence, the CBL seems to be getting its way. FDF has more or less promised not to block distribution centers.
But there is a catch. As chairman Mark van den Oever during the lawsuit also indicated, the action that FDF will take also depends on the judge's ruling Tuesday morning. It therefore remains unclear whether FDF will not indirectly hinder the distribution centers after all. "The fear that our distribution centers will not be blocked has not yet been completely dispelled," said Marc Jansen, director of the CBL.
No openness about action
FDF also did not want to disclose the actions to questions from the judge, because the surprise effect is part of the strategy. The judge struggled with this lack of clarity, because a clear plan is the only ground for a verdict. "The fact that FDF will not enter the private areas of the distribution sites does not, of course, mean that there will be no hindrance for the members of the CBL." The verdict will mainly depend on how it assesses the real threat to the distribution centres.
After the two parties had made their pleas during the lawsuit, a suspension followed, in which FDF and CBL had to try to find a solution together. CBL could have responded to the covenant that FDF sent the CBL on Friday. The farmers' organization indicated that if the CBL agreed to part of the requirements, there would be no actions against the CBL.
Don't negotiate with a knife on the table
However, CBL indicated that it did not want to negotiate with the knife on the table. CBL also refused to make any commitments about a specific requirement, such as shortening the payment term of 90 days that the supermarkets sometimes still use. The only promise that was made is that the CBL would like to talk to the farmers.
The court hearing was therefore disappointing for FDF director Sieta van Keimpema. "We would have liked the CBL to accept our covenant for a fair price for the farmers. Their reasoning that the term is too short to talk about this agreement is nonsense. We have been trying to talk to them for years, but that has failed. so far no results have been achieved.”
Anne-Jan Doorn
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