In early December, on the eve of the start of trade negotiations, the parties involved announced the signing of a charter designed to calm their historically tense relations. Almost 2 months later, Pact'Alim, which represents French small and medium-sized food businesses, including the ready-to-use fresh salads and vegetables and canned and frozen foods sectors, has come up with a rather bitter assessment: "a long way from the stated objectives."
"Unchanged or even worsening negotiation practices"
According to a survey carried out by Pact'Alim, 80% of companies report no change or even a worsening in buyer behavior compared with previous campaigns. While the charter has led to a slight improvement in certain practices, such as time slots or the number of meetings (25% of respondents), "negotiations are still strongly marked by:
- demands for systematic price cuts, largely uncorrelated with real trends in agricultural and industrial raw materials. Whereas suppliers asked for price rises averaging 2.5%, distributors asked for price cuts in 85% of cases, and in two-thirds of cases by between -2.5 and -5%.
- persistent pressure, including threats of delisting, delisting of drives, demands for benefits without compensation…
- a January 15th deadline that was largely missed by SMEs:
The charter provided for negotiations with SMEs to be finalized by January 15th at the latest, in order to take account of their specific constraints. However, as of this date, only 20-30% of SMEs indicated that they have finalized their negotiations at the national level, leaving a large majority of companies still in discussion, in a climate of uncertainty and strong economic pressure," according to the Pact'Alim press release.
"Unbalanced negotiations, marked by imposed price cuts and failure to respect the principles of the Egalim laws, are directly threatening the economic equilibrium of national processors in the agricultural and fisheries sectors, at a time when agriculture as a whole is in crisis. This is particularly true of the principle of protecting agricultural raw materials (MPA), which is no longer respected. This principle should normally result in a rise in prices at least equivalent to the rise in the cost of these MPAs."
The month and a half remaining before the conclusion of the trade negotiations (March 1st) must be an opportunity for retailers to become aware of the stakes and to commit themselves fully to regaining our food sovereignty in order to support the agricultural war effort that is being prepared.
Charters are not enough
"Pact'Alim takes note of the discussions that took place at the Monitoring Committee meeting, but points out that charters alone are no substitute for effective compliance with the law and responsible commercial practices.
Pact'Alim calls on the public authorities and retailers to make food sovereignty an absolute priority, in particular through: Strict and effective compliance with the Egalim laws, in particular with regard to the protection of agricultural raw materials; special treatment for primary and secondary processors in the agricultural and fisheries sectors, in particular SMEs and ETIs; and far-reaching changes in food negotiation practices capable of restoring our agricultural and agri-food destiny."
For more information:
44, rue d'Alésia - TSA 11442
75158 Paris cedex 14
Phone +33 (0)1 53 91 44 50
pactalim.fr
