The European Flour Millers’ association is the voice of the EU flour milling industry. It gathers the national associations from 26 European countries. They represent around 3 000 companies - most of which are SMEs - employing 45 000 people. With some 47 million tonnes of agricultural raw materials processed in the EU each year, the sector is the largest single user of EU domestic wheat, rye & oat for the food industry.
Our sector recognises that the “High Quality Food (KMÉ)” scheme is presented as a voluntary national quality label. Nevertheless, the extension of this scheme to flour mixes and flour-based mixes could have de facto trade implications for operators in other Member States.
In particular, we would request clarification on:
- Equal market access for non-Hungarian products: whether flour mixes produced in other Member States can obtain the KMÉ label under the same conditions, and whether any administrative or certification requirements might disproportionately affect cross-border operators.
- Risk of market distortion: voluntary national quality schemes can become decisive in consumer choice and retail acceptance. If the KMÉ label becomes a commercial “must-have” in the Hungarian market, EU operators unable or not permitted to participate may face an indirect barrier to market access.
- Future evolution of requirements: we encourage public authorities to ensure that the scheme does not evolve into mandatory compositional, processing or traceability requirements that would fragment the single market for flour-based products.
We therefore request that public authorities ensure full openness, non-discrimination, and proportionality in the operation of the KMÉ scheme, in line with EU internal market principles, and that participation be clearly accessible to all European flour millers without undue burden.
We thank you for considering these comments and remain available for any further technical discussion.
Sincerely,
Francesco VACONDIO
President
