Milk and sausage manufacturers asked on Tuesday to be exempt from the early opening of trade negotiations desired by the Government, ensuring that they have no means to lower their prices for the moment.
According to Fict, these companies “are in the red” due to pork prices (above 2 euros per kilo compared to 1.20 euros at the beginning of 2022) and the increase in costs linked to energy, transportation and salaries. The same goes for the National Federation of Dairy Industries (Fnil), which considers that the dairy sector “must be preserved due to our proximity to the agricultural sector”, whose “fair remuneration” was a priority of the Egalim laws.
A bill examined “at the beginning of October”
According to its president, François-Xavier Huard, manufacturers are concerned about the “accessibility” of their products, but will have difficulty lowering prices:
To try to moderate food inflation (+11.1% year-on-year in August), the Government decided that the 75 largest manufacturers and their large retail clients would bring forward their annual trade negotiations. A bill must be examined by the National Assembly “at the beginning of October”, according to Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire. Among the 75 manufacturers are ham makers Herta and Fleury Michon and dairy processors Danone and Lactalis.
Supermarkets negotiate every year between December and March 1 with their agro-industrial suppliers the conditions of sale of their production that will then be sold on their shelves. This year, the government would like the contracts to be concluded earlier, at the beginning of 2024, so that the new, if possible lower, prices are applied as quickly as possible.
Source: BFM TV
