Legal Regulation of Unfair Trade Practices in Food Supply Chain

Abstract

Recent changes in concentration in the EU markets affected also the organisation of the food supply chains. These significant changes severely impacted especially small and medium–sized enterprises which are likely to be exposed to unfair trading practices. Imbalances in bargaining power between large and small enterprises lead to competition inequalities and unfair trade practices that need a specific legislation governance. This paper provides an overview of the Slovak and EU legislation regulating unfair trade practices in agro–food sector. The main aim of both the European and Slovak legal acts regulating unfair trading practices is to ensure protection and fair income for businesses and quality and wider choice for consumers. In addition, the article also brings the overview of the EU directive transposition to the legal framework of individual EU member states.

Keywords

• unfair trade practices
• food supply chain
• legislation
• bargaining power