Food inflation: Bruno Le Maire puts pressure on producers

The government will ask distributors to extend the “anti-inflationary quarter”. Bruno Le Marie will meet with major food producers this Thursday to ask them to take over their margins to bring down inflation, he announced ahead of a meeting with distribution heavyweights.

“We’re going to ask for effort from those who make margins. Today, the profits are made by large agricultural producers, so they must participate,” the Minister of Economics told the press on the sidelines of a visit to the Évry Genopôle factory in Esson.

“Commercial negotiations should resume with distributors and they should lower retail prices when wholesale prices fall,” added Bruno Le Maire.

The minister even threatened the industrialists who refused to negotiate: “If someday the agri-food industrialists refuse to enter into these negotiations, which I obviously cannot imagine, we will use all the tools at our disposal, including the fiscal instrument, to restore the margin.” , which would be unfair markups made on the backs of consumers. »

The economy minister also wants the anti-inflationary quarter, which he called a “success”, to be extended beyond June 15. “We have to find a way to extend this operation in one form or another,” he said, while food inflation is still close to 15% for one year.

Food inflation is likely to reach a “peak of 17%” at the end of June.

A deal has been set up with large retailers, which has allowed “millions of our compatriots to gain access to food, the prices of which have fallen by 13% in recent weeks,” the minister said.

Asked about this anti-inflationary quarter on Franceinfo website, Intermarché head Thierry Cotillard said that its extension would depend on “the participation of industrialists in [l’]efforts to reduce prices,” even if he announced that the operation would continue for certain products.

Food inflation is likely to reach a “peak of 17%” at the end of June, he said. “Either we can force manufacturers to lower prices (…), or nothing will happen and inflation will remain at 17%,” warned the head of Intermarché.

Today’s meeting will be with distributors only. A second meeting with the industrialists is planned “for the second time”, with a yet-to-be-determined date, Bersi said last week.

The latest trade talks were completed on March 1 and resulted in an increase in the prices supermarkets pay their industrial suppliers by an average of about 10%.