Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire on Monday asked food manufacturers to accelerate negotiations to lower prices, while congratulating distributors for extending the "anti-inflation quarter" operation until the end of the year. Negotiations with industrialists "are not going fast enough", said the minister on France 5, adding that "some industrialists, some large industrial multinationals are playing for time", and recalling that the 75 largest agri-food manufacturers have committed to reopen trade negotiations with distributors. "To date, there are two or three who have done it," according to Bruno Le Maire, citing distributors. "I will bring together food manufacturers and representatives of distributors in the coming days," announced the minister, adding that if negotiations did not open before June 15, they would have "no effect on prices in September and October".
Consumer prices rose by 5.1% in May year-on-year, but food rose by 14.1%. "Before the end of June, I will publish the list of all the agri-food manufacturers who have played the game and the list of agri-food manufacturers who have refused to return to the negotiating table and who have not wanted to lower retail prices while wholesale prices are falling," explained Bruno Le Maire. In addition, "we will use the tax tool to seek in the margins of large manufacturers, which are high and recovering, the prices they did not want to give to consumers during the spring trade negotiations," he warned.
Bruno Le Maire also praised the distributors "who have all agreed to extend until the end of 2023 the operation of the anti-inflation quarter which was to end on June 15". Since March 15 and for an initial period of three months, most distributors had committed to selling a selection of products at the "lowest possible price", a formula leaving them a great deal of freedom of maneuver.