As food inflation continues to hit households hard with an almost 15% increase last month, Bruno Le Maire has announced that he will convene manufacturers and distributors “starting next week” to speed up their difficult trade negotiations.
“Now we are going to bring them to Bercy”
If the two actors – manufacturers and distributors – are to be invited, it is the manufacturers who have once again found themselves in the crosshairs of the minister who accuses them of not trying hard enough.
“Industrialists must participate in lowering prices,” he said, once again. “The wholesale prices of certain products such as wheat have fallen, he explains, and the agri-food companies must pass it on.”
The Minister’s call should not take industry players by surprise. Indeed, Bruno Le Maire had warned in mid-April of such an outcome if they did not manage to reach an agreement quickly, although it was the date of the end of May that he had given them to find common ground.
The extended anti-inflationary quarter
Another announcement from the minister who is taking part in his actions to combat price rises: the anti-inflationary quarter, which began in March and was due to end in mid-June, will be extended.
Bruno Le Maire did not specify the new end date for this anti-inflationary quarter, which could well become a semester. On the other hand, he praised its efficiency since, he said, the prices of the affected products fell between 5 and 7%.
His goal: to break the inflationary spiral by the fall, he said.
Source: BFM TV
