For several weeks, the mustard combs have been empty, but not full. In a country like France, where the average consumption is 1 kilo per year per person, distributors are forced to limit purchases to one or two jars due to supply difficulties.
Unsurprisingly, the price of this rare condiment has risen sharply, up almost 14% in a year, according to data from Iri. And the situation is not ready to improve.
Luc Vandermaesen, president of the Burgundy Mustard Association, is pessimistic. He fears that “it will still be a little while before we can restock.” According to him, the tensions are expected to last until 2024, he told the World.
Slowdown in Canadian production
This shortage is not only related to the war in Ukraine. Contrary to what one might think, the land of Dijon mustard is not a major producer of mustard seeds. Therefore, France is obliged to source abroad. About 80% of the 35,000 tons of seeds needed are imported from Canada.
However, it is getting more and more difficult to do so. The country has reduced its production of mustard plants in favor of wheat, which is more profitable. And Canada suffered a major drought episode that weakened crops. As a result, Canadian seed production was cut in half in early 2022, to 50,000 tonnes, according to Agriculture Canada.
Another part of the seeds imported to France comes from Russia and the Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict in the East in February, the delivery of these seeds has been severely interrupted.
Reconstitute French industry
The opportunity to relaunch the French sector? Burgundy, which produces a small part of the seeds needed by manufacturers, intends to take advantage of this Canadian supply crisis and the blockade of imports to the East.
Provided that seeds more resistant to climate and insects are developed to have sufficient yields, French legislation on insecticides being more restrictive than that of other countries, which makes it difficult to create a true French branch.
But those efforts will not bear fruit this year. The Anglo-Dutch Unilever, the main producer of mustard in France, acknowledges that “the entire Burgundy seed harvest, by itself, would be insufficient to cover the entire production of Amora and Maille mustards throughout the year.”
More than a third of its mustard seed needs will be lost to guarantee its 2022 production volumes, the company told The Associated Press. echoes. But he hopes “to find the usual supplies as soon as the next seed crop is received in October 2022.”
Therefore, a return to normality is not planned for this year. However, as with sunflower oil, some distributors manage to fill the shelves with unknown brands, often from Eastern European countries such as Poland or the Czech Republic. Whether the taste is the same remains to be seen.
Source: BFM TV
