Absence of milk, cheeses or ham, the shelves of supermarkets in certain overseas territories are starting to run out of fresh food products due to the strike movement against pension reform in French ports.
As the movement intensifies among metropolitan dockworkers, with a “dead ports” operation launched by the CGT in the seven major seaports, in Guadeloupe , the shortage is already being felt for Maéva Barret, 35, mother of two children 6 and 2 and a half. "I had to make three stores in Sainte-Anne".
"The first large area was empty at the start of the week when I wanted to do my shopping," she says. Not a drop of milk and less and less fresh products (yogurts, ham, puff pastry etc.) I went to another local discount store and still no milk […]. I ended up going to a convenience store, where I found 5 or 6 packs. I took three to make some reservations ”.
"Never happened"
In Martinique , a few containers ended up arriving after several days of waiting, making it possible to fill up the shelves a little, but the situation is far from stabilized, admit supermarket managers.
For several days in early January, in place of yogurts, desserts, hams, butters or cheeses, almost all of the island's banners posted the same announcements: “Dear customers, due to social movements in French ports, we we are not able to offer you all of your usual products ”.
Also in Saint-Martin , the shelves of fresh products are sparse. "We had the first shortages on yogurt and eggs," explains Jean-Pierre Deguille, co-manager of a Super U in Saint-Martin. But stock-outs have also started to be felt on the "dry and liquid" side, he says.
“From time to time at this time we have problems of one, two or three days delay due to bad weather. But we always manage to have a little stock. As we are currently experiencing with blockages, this has never happened ”.
Less disturbance from Saint-Denis to Nouméa
In Guyana , a supermarket manager also confirms that “supply disruptions” began in his hyper in “last weekend” on the fresh shelves. And the mass distribution sector is now afraid of receiving "expired" products due to the accumulated delay.
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The disturbances are less in Reunion and Mayotte , which are supplied in particular from neighboring countries.
In New Caledonia , the union of importers and distributors (SIDNC) also observed "some delays, but no major disturbances". This concerns building materials, packaging or non-sensitive products. "Consumer goods and basic necessities are imported from countries located in the Asia-Pacific region," said Sylvie Jouault, general delegate of SIDNC.
Containers left at dock
The strike movement impacted “transport in general,” explains Harry Maillard, commercial director of the maritime and air transport company SAS (Sea Air Services). "Not only maritime transport, but also road and air transport, which limited the supply of goods to platforms and to ports."
“When there is a beaded strike by dockers in the middle of a ship loading, we cannot stay at the quay forever. We sometimes make the decision to leave and leave containers behind us, ”adds Liliane Hohl, director of the shipping company CMA CGM.
On the shelves, locally produced products are experiencing a renewed interest. "We are currently experiencing an increase in demand for our products of the order of 10 to 15%", recognizes François Ursulet, secretary general of Danone which produces in Martinique.
"It is beneficial yes, but an economic operator cannot be delighted with a port blocking, because we also import a certain number of raw materials (including milk powder to produce yoghurts, note) . Given the remoteness, we have two to three month stock covers, but we hope that activity will resume. ”