Food inflation: still no reopening of trade negotiations, according to distributors

"Small talks" but no "trade negotiations" underway: Despite the commitment made by the biggest food manufacturers, distributors said on Wednesday that trade negotiations had not reopened, calling on the government to "take legal action". At the end of a meeting in Bercy on May 17 with the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, the representatives of Ania and another organization, Ilec, had undertaken to reopen negotiations with supermarkets to lower prices on the shelves. “A handful of suppliers are actually showing signs, but very few,” regretted System U boss Dominique Schelcher, on Radio Classique. “We may be starting to talk about promotions but we have nothing significantly concrete,” he said.

On food prices, “there is not much that will go down”, added the president of the strategic committee of the E.Leclerc centers, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, on FranceInfo. “Of the 75 suppliers of Ania, some even offer us increases,” he denounced. For several weeks, the government has been pressuring powerful groups, such as Coca-Cola, L'Oréal, Mondelez and Nestlé, to take their part in efforts to curb soaring prices.

Pasta, cereals, poultry… Hundreds of food products will see their prices drop from July under a commitment made to Bercy by these 75 major food manufacturers, Bruno Le Maire had promised in early June. But for Dominique Schelcher, it is insufficient: "The most important line to move is to change the system of trade negotiations, it is no longer suitable," he said on Wednesday. Michel-Edouard Leclerc, he calls on the government to “take a legal provision” such as an order to force the hand of industrialists and that trade negotiations are finally reopened before those scheduled for “next December”. The rise in food prices remained very high in May according to INSEE, reaching 14.3% over one year, even if it is a little less than in April (15%).