« Tsunami d’inflation », “Risk of explosion in food prices”, “wall in the face of rising energy costs”. Professionals have no shortage of shocking phrases to describe their fear of a double-digit increase in selling prices in supermarkets in 2023. “Requests for upgrades that we receive from suppliers are at extremely high levels: between 15% and 25% on many products”, worries Jacques Creyssel, general delegate of the Federation of commerce and distribution. Haribo sweets up 26%, Marie catering dishes up 15%, Le Gaulois or Maître Coq chickens up 10%, hams or Bresse pâtés up 7%…
Manufacturers had until 1is December to submit their price proposals for national brand consumer products. And the two parts until 1is March 2023 to reach an agreement. “When Pepsi asks us for a 30% increase, we won’t be able to halve it by negotiating. If we start at this level, it is very worrying.launches the boss of a French brand.
« A year ago, manufacturers had asked for an average increase of 7% and obtained around 3.5% », underlines Thierry Dahan, mediator of agricultural commercial relations. Except that with the post-crisis recovery of Covid-19, then the war in Ukraine, not to mention the avian flu epizootic, production costs have soared. The prices of agricultural raw materials, packaging, transport and energy have soared. The government had therefore encouraged, at the end of March, manufacturers and distributors to get back around the table to renegotiate over the months. An unprecedented situation.
The sensitive subject of the cost of energy
Result, according to the research firm IRI, at the end of November, the slider of food inflation reached 12% in supers and hypermarkets. But, for some companies, the latest increases obtained are still insufficient to maintain their profitability. Thus Philippe Gelin, general manager of the poultry group LDC – also known for its Marie brand –, explains that he only obtained a 13% increase in his prices for his catering range on October 31. He wants a 15% revaluation in 2023.
For his part, Jean-Philippe André, president of the National Association of Agrifood Industries and boss of the Haribo group, points out that he only won a 3% increase in his prices in March, in order to put into perspective the additional 26% requested for 2023. “20% is linked to the increase in agricultural raw materials alone, mainly sugar “, he justifies. An additional cost certified by a third party and which therefore falls within the framework of the EGalim 2 law, promulgated a year ago. Aiming to protect the remuneration of farmers, it protects the share of agricultural raw material in the prices, which has become non-negotiable, provided that tangible proof of its cost is provided.
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