The Ministry of Agriculture has asked large retailers to accept the price increases requested by milk producers, criticizing on Friday the insufficient revaluations in the context of trade negotiations with the risk of weakening the entire sector.
“We are at a turning point: distributors must assume their responsibilities, brands must agree to pass the increases (in rates) to guarantee the remuneration of farmers and ensure the sustainability of the dairy sector,” the ministry demanded during the meeting. meeting. with the press
The resumption in mid-March of the negotiations between supermarkets and agri-food manufacturers, to transfer the increases in production costs linked to the war in Ukraine, has become “a permanent round of negotiations”, he denounced, accusing the indications of having “dragged” the threads at length.
+12/13% expected, +6/7% proposed
If they were “quite successful” this summer with fewer blockades, admits the ministry, the negotiations gave rise to increases “quite important without being enough”, and that are well below the demands of the industrialists, in particular those of the meat or fresh vegetables.
Among the distributors, “some play the game, others less”, underlines the ministry, and the increases obtained would be, according to him, of the order of “6-7%” instead of the 12-13% expected by suppliers.
They, like farmers, have suffered very significant increases in their production costs in recent months, and the trend is not going to reverse, with energy prices (gas, electricity) reaching unprecedented levels.
Fearing that a “fairly bleak horizon” is looming for many food industries, the ministry was especially concerned about the dairy industry, whose producers “see their remuneration blocked” around 50 euros below the purchase price of the European average of 1,000 litres.
The historic drought, which hit Europe this summer, reduced grass production to feed dairy cows and raised the price of animal feed by around 25%, further strangling farmers.
“If we refuse to pay for milk at the price of its production costs, tomorrow we will be forced to import it,” fears the Ministry of Agriculture.
The agrarian unions and the National Federation of Milk Producers (FNPL) ask that the liter sold on the shelves be revalued at the symbolic price of one euro.
Source: BFM TV
