The new rules governing trade negotiations between agribusinesses and supermarket brands, aimed at better remunerating farmers, "
must apply
" now, the government warned on Wednesday.
The Ministries of Agriculture and Industry want to avoid any "
circumvention strategy
", they indicated the day after a first follow-up committee for trade negotiations bringing together the ministers Julien Denormandie (Agriculture) and Agnès Pannier Runacher (Industry ), as well as representatives of large retailers, the agri-food industry and the agricultural world.
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These negotiations, which determine the price of products put on the shelves in 2022, will end on March 1.
In mid-October, Parliament definitively adopted a text to protect farmers' remuneration by further regulating commercial relations between manufacturers and distributors.
Supported by the majority, the law, known as Egalim 2, provides for the generalization of written contracts, taking into account production costs, between the farmer and the company which will transform its products.
It also aims to prevent the share corresponding to the purchase of these agricultural raw materials from then being traded between the manufacturer and the distributor - a form of sanctuary of the price accruing to the farmer.
Large-scale distribution puts forward the defense of the purchasing power of the French
The first implementing decrees were published at the end of October by the government, which wanted the provisions to apply as soon as possible. The subject is sensitive a few months before the presidential election. Farmers and manufacturers want to obtain price increases to cover the surge in their own costs (animal feed, energy, packaging, transport, etc.). When large-scale distribution ritually puts forward the defense of the purchasing power of the French.
In a press release, the spokesperson for industrialists (Ania) "
calls on all stakeholders to show tolerance towards companies which have only been discovering this far-reaching reform for just a few weeks which will upset the terms of negotiations. between suppliers and distributors
”. The association also says that it "
will be vigilant to possible abuses and bad brand practices
". The first agricultural union FNSEA expects a "
strict and immediate
" application of Egalim 2. Faced with "
the economic emergency
", the organization also requests that the 2021 tariffs be renegotiated "
for a revaluation of prices, without waiting for the outcome of trade negotiations andEgalim 2 app
".