On the industrial side, it’s radio silence or rejection. The head of System U, Dominique Schelcher, like his colleagues, denounced on Monday morning the lack of response from the main agri-food groups to repeated invitations from distributors and the government to re-discuss the prices of food. At the negotiating table one of the stakeholders is missing.
“There is no movement”
For several months now, food prices have skyrocketed, forcing many French people to restrict themselves. Last month, fresh produce rose more than 10% in a year, while the price of other foods rose nearly 16%. To try to counteract this runaway inflation, the government has launched an anti-inflationary quarter, which will last beyond three months, and supports the return of discussions between distributors and manufacturers. But there’s a catch: manufacturers are reluctant.
“At Système U we have written to 300 companies” and “there is no movement”, explains Dominique Schelcher to the BFMTV microphone.
No movement towards the discussion table but some movements in the opposite direction according to Dominique Schelcher who says she has received 7 or 8 letters from industrialists letting her know that they would not renegotiate prices this year.
Last year, manufacturers were in a hurry to renegotiate with Système U
A paradoxical situation for the head of System U who remembers the eagerness of the large food companies to get in touch with System U last year to talk about prices again. But at the time, it was about increasing them, he says.
Today, raw materials and many other commodities are trading lower, which would also justify a price review, he explains.
But manufacturers do not have to re-discuss prices that were established, with difficulty, at the beginning of the year. France is also a European exception because in all the other countries in the bloc, negotiations take place several times a year, which allows for greater flexibility.
Source: BFM TV
