France: crisis in the lettuce industry

Tholen – The French Minister of Agriculture, Dominique Bussereau, demanded distributors to pay a fair price for lettuce to producers. If the demand is not taken into account, the Minister will be forced to apply according to the French legislation a “multiplicator coefficient” that reduces the marketing margins. The application of the multiplicator coefficient will take place next week if distributors do not make any changes on prices, announced Mr. Bussereau.

The most affected producers are located in the southern regions. The farmers union (Fédération départementale des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles - FDSEA) calculate the losses on approximately € 20 million. Producers confirmed that while production costs of lettuce are 35 cents per unit, they receive only between 5 and 10 cents per unit. Mr Bussereau promised an aid package between € 1 and 1,5 million for the producers of the region Bouches-du-Rhône.

Publication date: February 28 2007
Author: Jahir Lombana
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