THE QUESTION -
This is the question that is on the minds of many consumers.
It was even asked in a tweet by Michel Edouard Leclerc: is there a risk of food shortage?
We remember the empty shelves with shortages of flour, toilet paper, pasta in supermarkets and hypermarkets in March before the official announcement of containment and in the days or even weeks that followed.
CHECKS
- Christiane Lambert, president of the FNSEA, the first agricultural union in France, assures him: "
Milk, yogurts, meats ... There is everything you need to feed the French in the event of new confinement
", assures us.
Same speech from distributors and manufacturers who claim to have learned the lessons of the previous confinement.
They say they have taken the lead, and are benefiting from the experience gained in the spring.
Read the file: Reconfinement: all about new measures against Covid-19
The agrifood system is better organized.
In fact, confinement has enabled better knowledge of consumer behavior.
The teams have been prepared for several weeks and ready to adapt their organization to possible new government announcements, says the spokesperson for a large distributor.
However, essential factors must be taken into account: it must be ensured that the truckers can continue to transport these stocks and thus ensure them decent working conditions.
Another key factor is that the employee absenteeism rate must remain low enough not to lead to the closure of factories or stores.
Conditions for maintaining the transport chain
“
The supply chain is ready, the resources are there.
The stocks and goods are there.
We are not worried on that side.
Especially since we have the experience of the first confinement,
”says Jean-Marc Rivéra, secretary general of OTRE (The Organization of European Road Transporters).
“
But we wish to warn about the importance of maintaining favorable working conditions for drivers, in particular guaranteeing them access to showers, toilets and catering - via take-out if necessary.
The reception areas for truck drivers must remain open, otherwise we could have an epidermal reaction from them.
On this sensitive point, we no longer have the right to make mistakes,
”warns the truck representative.
In fact, during the last confinement, a large part of the reception facilities for truckers had remained closed.
On long journeys, therefore, drivers could no longer shower or simply find a decent toilet.
They also struggled to eat.
They also denounced a lack of protective equipment against the Covid.
Unions had called on truck drivers to individually exercise their right of withdrawal.
However, the withdrawal of the truckers could cause a rapid collapse of the system.
The French agrifood system is indeed based on the comings and goings of goods: from fields to processing factories, then from factories to purchasing centers and even stores.
Food products in supermarkets have indeed traveled several hundred or even thousands of kilometers, depending on the product.
In addition, according to a study by Utopies, 98% of the content of food consumed locally is imported.
Thus, without the essential link of transport, the system can therefore jam and shortages would then be feared in supermarkets.
Ensure the maintenance of markets and small businesses
On the farmer side, “
we are not afraid of a supply disruption but we will have to pay particular attention to local shops which are the most able to meet local food for the French.
We must support and accompany them and we must not close the markets, which could be detrimental to producers,
”says Nicolas Girod, spokesperson for the peasant confederation.
“
Large retailers will turn more to national production.
In addition to solidarity on volumes, distributors must also guarantee fair prices to French farmers,
”warns the breeder.
Indeed, during the previous confinement, at the call of the two main unions, FNSEA and the peasant confederation, farmers decided to go on a “
slaughterhouse strike
” to denounce the lower prices applied by distributors.
The breeders accused the distributors of having abused their position as the only outlet (after the closure of markets and restaurants) to lower the prices paid to farmers.
Same warning from Christiane Lambert, president of the FNSEA: “
Producers' concern is whether they will be able to continue selling their products.
For that, it is necessary that the open air markets remain open and it is necessary to make work the local businesses, it was a mistake to stop them.
But we have learned from what happened
", adds the farmer who ensures"
that there is no fear of food shortage if the French do not overstock
.
References temporarily unavailable in stores
Distributors are also reassuring.
They are better equipped than in spring to cope with a peak in demand from their customers, if they do not panic.
"
We have anticipated the second wave, and now have the experience of spring containment,"
explains Jacques Creyssel, the general delegate of the Federation of commerce and distribution
.
We know which products are most in demand, so that brands have been able to build up stocks
”.
Distributors hope that the French have also learned the lessons of the first containment, and that they understand that it is not necessary to make precautionary purchases that could disrupt stores and create temporary disruptions on the shelves.
“
Customers know that there was never, in the spring, a total out of stock of a type of product, hopes Jacques Creyssel.
They know they will always find pasta on the shelf
”, even if their favorite reference may be temporarily unavailable.
Absenteeism, a data under close surveillance
Manufacturers confirm the analysis of distributors: stocks of foodstuffs are currently very high, in stores as well as in manufacturers.
According to Richard Panquiauilt, the general delegate of Ilec, which represents the major manufacturers, "
the order levels placed by distributors remained very high this summer, 10% to 20% higher than usual
", and at -beyond what customers bought in-store.
The factories were in full swing during the summer to replenish stocks, at their lowest in May.
“
Usually, summer is an opportunity to carry out maintenance operations, which was not the case this year,
” continues Richard Panquiault.
One criterion will however be crucial so that the French lack nothing in the coming weeks: that of absenteeism, in stores, warehouses and factories.
The risk being that too many absentees will lead to the closure of sites, thus jeopardizing the supply of the French.
During confinement, this indicator was scrutinized like milk on the fire at Bercy.
It was then pushed up by the closure of schools, which led some employees to look after their children, and the absence of masks for the staff until the end of March, a factor of concern.
Today, the biggest fear of manufacturers is the appearance of a cluster in a factory.
To guard against this risk, barrier measures are scrupulously observed.
At Barilla, for example, the temperature of each employee is taken before they enter the factory.
In conclusion, there is little risk of lasting and global shortages appearing in stores.
For that, however, it is necessary that the working conditions of the truck drivers are respected, that the prices paid to the producers are worthy, that the French do not panic and that factories or stores do not turn into a cluster.
