France’s competition authority has unconditionally approved two significant transactions in the agricultural and agri-food sector, clearing the way for deeper consolidation across upstream food supply chains without imposing remedies.
The Autorité de la Concurrence approved the creation of a joint venture between Belgian frozen foods group Greenyard and French cooperative Eureden, as well as the merger of agricultural cooperatives Terres du Sud and Vivadour.
The rulings remove regulatory uncertainty for food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators reliant on French-grown produce, and underscore a pragmatic stance from regulators at a time when processors are seeking scale to manage cost pressures, climate risk and supply volatility.
The Greenyard–Eureden joint venture will combine the frozen vegetable and frozen ready-meal operations of their respective French subsidiaries, Gelagri Bretagne and Greenyard Frozen France.
The new entity will operate two production sites in Brittany and supply both private-label products and manufacturer brands, including D’Aucy and Paysan Breton, exclusively for Eureden.
The authority examined the impact of the deal on fresh vegetable sourcing in Brittany and on frozen vegetable and ready-meal markets supplying supermarkets, specialist frozen retailers and the out-of-home catering sector.
It concluded the venture would not significantly alter competitive dynamics, citing the presence of alternative suppliers such as Bonduelle and Ardo Foods and inter-regional competition for key crops.
Regulators also ruled out the risk of coordinated behaviour between Greenyard and Eureden in markets where they will continue to compete independently.
Separately, the Autorité cleared the merger of Terres du Sud and Vivadour, creating what will become France’s 20th largest agricultural cooperative by consolidated turnover, representing around 9,000 member farmers across south-west France.
The authority assessed the combined group’s influence across a wide range of markets, including grain collection, agricultural inputs and poultry supply chains.
It concluded that farmers would retain sufficient alternatives for crop collection and that the merged entity would not be able to exert undue pricing pressure on slaughterhouses or downstream customers.
In poultry, the Autorité said competitive constraints from other French production basins and imports – particularly for standard chicken – would continue to limit market power.
The decisions were issued less than six weeks after notification, a timeframe the authority attributed to extensive pre-notification discussions.
Over the past four years, all 20 notified agricultural cooperative mergers in France have been cleared unconditionally in Phase 1, with only one transaction – involving duck fattening activities – abandoned following competition concerns.
Featured image: ©Eureden
Dining and Cooking