Contractual scope in the agri-food market: the case of protection consortia in the wine sector

This paper is aimed at critically investigating the function of those associations that have been allowed to operate in the agri-food sector since the last reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the role that they can virtuously play in order to rebalance the bargaining power of agri-food entrepreneurs, specifically focusing on the consortia for the protection of local products. The nature and tasks of producer organisations (POs) and interprofessional organisations (IOs) will be described. Protection consortia in the wine sector will then be analysed, together with the delicate issue of erga omnes extension of rules laid down for IOs in the wine sector to nonmembers of the consortium. In addition, some tentative evaluation will be undertaken and the hypothesis of extending the interprofessional model to all consortia for the Protection of typical products will be assessed