The price of a large part of the products sold in supermarkets will be determined on January 31, the end date of commercial negotiations between large retailers and their agro-industry suppliers. This year, the government brought forward this negotiation period by a few weeks, hoping that reductions in the costs of certain raw materials would be reflected more quickly on supermarket shelves.
But this price drop will not take place this year. Negotiations are difficult according to several supermarket bosses, since some agro-industrialists are demanding a price increase on products that should fall.
Hopes dashed
Contrary to what the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced on January 7, a “very slight inflation, perhaps of 2-3%” is envisaged by Jean-Philippe André, the president of ANIA , the main representative organization of agro-industrialists. “There will be no return to the prices we experienced in 2019 and 2020,” he specifies. Inflation will mainly be reflected in certain products under pressure, such as sugar, rice, olive oil, cocoa or orange juice.
According to Jean-Philippe André, these increases are due to a “cost structure” that is still “high”, particularly due to salary increases over the past two years. “The minimum wage has increased by 15% over the past two years,” he explains. However, “we are not going to go back on salaries. »