As presidents of organisations representing Europe’s primary food processing industry, we close the year with a clear and united assessment of our sector’s viability. The resilience of primary processing is essential for Europe’s food security, rural economies and the strategic autonomy the EU seeks to strengthen.
The pressures we face have shifted from temporary strain to structural pressure, with serious consequences for future investment, production and food security. A study conducted with Wageningen University shows that raw material processing in sugar, starch, cocoa and flour has contracted since 2022 due to higher input prices, weakening consumer demand and increasing climate related volatility.
At the same time, economic viability is eroding. Real turnover has fallen by nearly 10% since 2021, highlighting a significant loss of competitiveness and financial resilience.
Primary food processors convert over 220 million tonnes of agricultural commodities each year into essential ingredients, generating €70 billion in turnover and supporting more than one million farming families and 120,000 industrial jobs. This first industrial link is indispensable to Europe’s food security, rural economies and the functioning of downstream food and feed supply chains.
However, rising production costs, decarbonisation pressures and intensified global competition are undermining the viability of these operations. At the same time, the sector is not recognised within EU industrial policy frameworks, limiting access to state aid, transition finance and accelerated permitting mechanisms.
If this trend continues, Europe risks losing its processing capacity, shifting value creation outside the EU and increasing dependence on imported processed ingredients.
We urge the European Commission, Member States and the European Parliament to take decisive action and ensure that primary processing can remain competitive and continue delivering for Europe’s food system.
Primary processors and farmers are equally essential and interdependent parts of the EU food supply chain and should benefit from competitive and predictable operating conditions. Europe also needs a competitiveness focused decarbonisation framework that reflects the sector’s unique characteristics, including rurality, seasonality and thin operating margins.
Reducing Europe’s structural energy cost disadvantage must remain a priority through access to affordable clean energy and accelerated infrastructure development. Primary food processors should also be recognised within EU industrial policy frameworks and included in strategic value chain initiatives. Finally, regulatory predictability and reduced compliance burdens are necessary to support sustainable and competitive food production.
We stand ready to work with EU institutions to ensure that Europe retains the industrial capacity essential to feeding its citizens. However, urgent action is required.
| Name | Organisation |
|---|---|
| Giovanni Tamburini | CEFS President |
| Emiel Van Dijk | ECA Board Member |
| Francesco Vacondio | EFM President |
| Christophe Lescroart | Starch Europe President |
| Sophie Verpoort | EUVEPRO President |
| Christophe Beaunoir | FEDIOL President |
The Primary Food Processors of the EU (PFP) brings together the European Association of Sugar Manufacturers (CEFS), the European Cocoa Association (ECA), the European Flour Milling Association (European Flour Millers), the European Starch Industry Association (Starch Europe), the European Vegetable Protein Association (EUVEPRO), and the European Vegetable Oil and Proteinmeal Industry (FEDIOL).
PFP members process approximately 220 million tonnes of raw materials and employ more than 120,000 people across the European Union.
