Lactalis refutes the distributors’ accusations against the manufacturers. Guest this Tuesday night on the set of good afternoon businessThe spokesman for the Lactalis group, Christophe Piednoël, denounced the “totally unacceptable” statements made that same morning by the general delegate of the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD), Jacques Creyssel, about BFM business.
“Last June they had done the same to us, that is to say that large retailers had questioned the probity of the industrial players, to such an extent that the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, had asked his services to carry out an investigation” , continued the spokesman for the French dairy giant, referring to the report of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) of November 2022.
Increase in the price of milk
Based on this IGF report, Christophe Piednoël questioned the accusations of price gouging and “abusive” margins against agri-food groups. The Lactalis spokesman also assured that the costs of agricultural raw materials and energy will remain high in 2023. The CDF leader had denounced in particular an “unexpected effect” that manufacturers use to increase their margins. “Jacques Creyssel did not read the IGF report well,” he said.
According to its spokesperson, Lactalis is demanding a price increase “between 9% and 15% depending on the product” in 2023, due to the increase in the price of milk and energy. But the annual trade negotiations, which end in a few days, “are not very advanced” and “are extremely difficult,” Christophe Piednoël said. “When I listen to the comments that we heard this morning, I don’t have a lot of confidence.”
Source: BFM TV
