FARMERS have known for a long time that they are the weakest players along the food supply chain. The economic jargon is that they are "price takers, rather than price makers".

From the EU farm commissioner Phil Hogan downwards, everyone know this is a problem – but getting anything done about it at a European level is a major challenge.

If the hot air of talking shops improved the lot of farmers, they would be enjoying the luxury of a fairer food chain – but for now all they have had is hot air. Whether, in time, something will be done to tackle this is open to question – and even if it does happen, it will be too late for farmers here, since by then the UK will almost certainly be out of the EU.

Since the UK is one of the countries opposed to any suggestion of tighter standards for retailers, it is unlikely anything will happen here, beyond the limited powers of the Grocery Code Adjudicator.

This week saw a meeting in Brussels of the agri markets task force. This was set up by Phil Hogan to look mainly at unfair trading practices between the major retailers and their suppliers. It has an impressive board, and an equally impressive chairman in the shape of a former Dutch farm minister. But it seems to be struggling to come to conclusions that would be effective and politically possible to implement.

There is a real danger this group, which has already had its time to prepare a final report extended, will end up delivering an analysis of the problem, rather than new ideas likely to be taken on board in Brussels.

The issue also topped the agenda at an informal meeting of farm ministers, hosted by the Slovakian EU presidency. The worthy subject for debate is "strengthening the position of the farmer in the food chain". This will no doubt produce lots of sympathy and calls for more cooperation and vertical integration between farmers. However, like the agri markets task force, the real challenge will come when they get to the issue of tackling UTPs. There the key question is the one that has been there from the outset – is there a case for legislation, and more importantly has the European Commission the will to take such an idea forward?

My betting would be that it lacks the will to make this happen. Instead it will focus on trying to strengthen cooperatives and finding ways to encourage farmers to work together more. This may work where there is a history of effective cooperation, but it is not the answer to the problem. That lies with the power retailers can exert over suppliers, who in turn exert power over farmers supplying them. Farmers are the weakest by far in that equation, but every day the trade body that represents food and drink manufacturers, and some retailers, lobbies strongly against legislation.

Its ace in this argument is that it would drive up food prices – and for politicians that is a powerful disincentive to introduce legislation. While consumers may accept that farmers are not being treated fairly, they like the result in the shape of lower food prices and intense competition for their spend on food.

The current generation is spending less on food, as a proportion of their income, than any past generation – and that is a situation they enjoy. It would be a brave politician that would risk being accused of doing anything to change that.

On a similar theme, this week brought a focus on the Red Tractor Scheme. This has been good for farmers – despite plans to undermine it by introducing lifetime assurance standards. This prompted NFU Scotland to call for compulsory country of origin labelling for meat and dairy products sold in the UK. Given that France, Portugal and some others have already gone down this road for dairy products, the EU might not raise too many obstacles to this idea, not least because the UK is on its way out and there would be little point in beginning court action against anything it does.

However the UK was one of the most vocal opponents of country of origin labelling in Europe, because it would undermine the flexibility of retailers to source where they want, so it seems unlikely there will be any conversion at Westminster on the road to Brexit.