Progress of trade negotiations: deputies and senators agree on timetable

Anticipated shelf price drops? Deputies and senators agreed on Monday on the timetable for the advancement of commercial negotiations between supermarkets and manufacturers for 2024 during a joint committee on the so-called “anti-inflation” bill, according to a press release from the Senate.

These must conclude on January 15 for companies with an annual turnover of less than 350 million euros, and on January 31 for others. This calendar “suits us well because it will allow us to quickly obtain substantial price reductions, from January 15,” promised the office of the Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium Enterprises Olivia Grégoire during a telephone briefing. to the press. “Every day gained in these negotiations is a day gained for the French wallets,” she said in a message posted on X (formerly Twitter).

“The aim of this law is to anticipate in January the impact of drops in the price of raw materials which would otherwise only have been reflected in March,” according to a press release from the Ministry of the Economy. . “Many declines continue and must be passed on to the consumer: for example this month, the prices of soft wheat, durum wheat, sunflower, corn and rapeseed are, on average, significantly lower than those of November 2022 “There will therefore be price reductions,” the press release further indicates. Food inflation fell to 7.7% in October, compared to 9.7% in September or 15.9% last March, according to Bercy.

Annual commercial negotiations between manufacturers and distributors usually conclude on March 1, but the government has decided to bring them forward, hoping to pass on reductions in the cost of certain raw materials more quickly in store prices. They make it possible to set the conditions (purchase price, shelf space, promotional calendar, etc.) under which supermarkets will obtain supplies for the entire year from their agro-industrial suppliers.

On October 26, the Senate voted in favor of moving forward with these negotiations but with a timetable slightly postponed compared to that voted by the deputies. While the National Assembly had adopted a deadline for negotiations of December 31 for companies with an annual turnover of less than 350 million euros and January 15 for others, the senators wanted to delay the timetable for two weeks, respectively on January 15 and 31. The Senate is expected to adopt this bill on Thursday, the National Assembly on November 14.