The draft provides for mandatory indication of the country of origin on price tags or on an announcement in the immediate vicinity of the goods.
According to the provisions, for packaged products, the country of origin information must correspond to the information on the label. In the case of unpackaged products, the information will be based on data provided by the importer or supplier and supported by accompanying commercial documents.
The country of origin must be indicated in text form. The use of the flag is allowed, but only as an additional element – it is prohibited without the country of origin.
“We expect that increased visibility can increase sales of local producers by 5-15% in the fresh produce categories. In addition, greater visibility on the shelf will boost the rural economy and reduce carbon emissions. We do not aim to discriminate specifically on the basis of country, but we all know that the local producer has predominance and the consumer will decide for himself,” said Commission Chairman Radu Marian.
The new requirements apply only to retail facilities with an area of more than 50 square meters, so as not to create an additional administrative burden for small, especially rural stores.
According to the deputy, local producers supported the initiative and supermarket chains “had no objections in principle”.
Recall that last week the draft law on short supply chains of agro-food products and on the supply of agro-food products through short chains” was adopted in the first reading.
