When the coronavirus arrived in France and the confinement was put in place, we remember certain empty shelves at the supermarket. Three years later, supply is still a problem with certain foodstuffs. Should the French expect new supermarket stockouts in 2023 ?
Supermarket: supply still difficult three years after the health crisis
Since the health crisis, the French have had to deal with several supermarket shortages. Indeed, there were times when mustard, sunflower oil, foie gras, chickpeas, rice or even pasta were in short supply. Indeed, France experienced shortages that it had never experienced before.
The food chain is in a difficult context
Between the rise in energy and fuel prices, the climate which is acting up, supply problems, the field of the food industry is under pressure.
“The French food chain is at a turning point”, declared Dominique Schelcher, the CEO of System U to the journalists of the Sunday newspaper at the end of last year.
Besides, you may have noticed during your last visit to the supermarket that the second favorite starch of the French was not found on the shelves?
A new shortage of pasta at the supermarket is going to happen?
This is pasta. These foods are convenient and accessible. Indeed, there is not a Frenchman who does not have a packet of pasta in his cupboards. Alas, ruptures are to be noted. “Three years after the outbreak of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the pasta department remains under tension”explains the journalists of the Monde.
“We still have supply problems. We can talk about spoke beaded breaks », informs Albert Mathieu, the CEO of Panzani. He also points out that this is due to a 10% increase in sales in December 2022.
So, will this still change the behavior of the French and will they rush to the supermarket shelves to stock up? An attitude that is not likely to fix things. Indeed, the French tend to sour stockbecause they have fear of missing out.
“The hasty purchase of these products creates shortages, but not shortages. Suppliers still have stock »explained Michel-Edouard Leclerc last August.
Who are the culprits?
“sales on the French market increased from 400,000 to 450,000 tonnes between 2019 and 2020. In 2022, they remained at a higher level than before Covid at 419,000 tonnes”, reveals Albert Mathieu. Even though pasta prices have increased at the supermarket, products remain accessible to as many people as possible.
“Before the crisis, the 500 g package of Panzani pasta cost 75 cents, today it is more than 1 euro »informed the general manager of Panzani, but he is not reassured for the future.
“To cope with the increase in our costs, we would need a further increase of 15%”, he confessed. Currently, Panzani is negotiating with distributors to pass this increase on to the supermarket. “Panzani’s electricity bill has more than doubled. But to reduce that of its customers, the manufacturer advises his thin pasta cooked in three minutes », reveals The world. A good hearer!