Some pull the face when going to the checkout while others rub their hands. Consumers and farmers clearly do not have the same perception of the price increase that has been affecting food products for several months. For households, the surge of almost 15% over one year in the supermarket shopping bill weighs heavily in expenses. And it is still likely to last according to Emmanuel Macron who warns that “it will be hard until the end of the summer. »
For producers of meat, fruit or vegetables, on the other hand, this inflation, at a level not seen since 1985, is good. In Brittany, the leading agricultural region and pantry of France, farmers have thus found a smile for a year with much more remunerative prices. And almost all sectors benefit from it, such as pork, which at the end of March reached a record level of 2.38 euros per kilo, or milk, the price of which 1,000 liters paid to breeders is now approaching 500 euros. “No one could have imagined such prices”, underlines André Sergent, president of the powerful Regional Chamber of Agriculture of Brittany, welcoming this “upturn” for producers.
“This situation can be ephemeral”
Like everyone else, however, Breton farmers have to deal with inflation with soaring prices for raw materials and energy. “For example, the cost of feeding pigs has increased by 31% in one year and the energy bill by 30% for milk”, underlines André Sergent, breeder of pigs and dairy cows in Beuzec-Cap-Sizun. at the tip of Finistère. But this increase in costs was largely offset by soaring food prices, which allowed many producers to rebuild their cash flow.
“A fair catch-up of decades where we have accustomed consumers to ever lower food prices”, according to André Sergent. Taking advantage of this “unprecedented” period, the Breton peasants nevertheless remained lucid. In a very uncertain world market where prices are yo-yoing, they know full well that “this situation may be ephemeral”, underlines Laurent Kerlir, president of the Chamber of Agriculture of Morbihan.
A decline in Breton production
In France, the government is also pushing food industry players to reopen trade negotiations as soon as possible to bring prices down. An unwelcome eagerness according to the farmers. “For once we earn a little money, we want to be able to take advantage of it a little,” says Laurent Kerlir, dairy producer in Plœmeur.
Especially since these better incomes are not enough to “raise the morale of the troops”, according to André Sergent. Between the fed up of some and the eternal challenge of transmission, Breton agriculture has indeed seen its production decline for several years. “There are cyclical causes such as the drought last summer, but these are above all structural causes with livestock and sown areas which are decreasing, indicates the president of the Regional Chamber of Agriculture of Brittany. To remain competitive and attract young people, prices must therefore be remunerative so that producers can live decently. Otherwise, we risk seeing Breton production decline further. »