Orange with Media Services, published on Friday September 2, 2022 at 7:10 p.m. The ministry thus intends to guarantee the financial sustainability of the dairy sector. What if France were to end up importing milk due to the fragility of its sector? It is to avoid this catastrophic scenario that the Ministry of Agriculture called on large retailers to accept the price increases requested by milk producers, castigating Friday, September 2 insufficient revaluations in the context of trade negotiations in risks weakening the entire sector.
“We are at a turning point: distributors must take their responsibilities, brands must agree to pass the increases (in tariffs) to guarantee the remuneration of farmers and ensure the sustainability of the dairy sector”, demanded the ministry during the meeting. A point with the press. The resumption in mid-March of negotiations between supermarkets and agrifood manufacturers, to pass on the increases in production costs linked to the war in Ukraine, has turned into “a permanent cycle of negotiations”, he denounced, accusing the signs of having “dragged” the discussions in length. If they were “rather successful” this summer with fewer blockages, admits the ministry, the negotiations led to increases “quite significant without being sufficient”, and which remain well below the demands of industrialists, in particular those of meat. or fresh vegetables.”Some play the game”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 about to be reversed, with energy prices (gas, electricity) reaching unprecedented levels Fearing that a “rather dark horizon” is emerging for many food industries, the ministry was particularly worried about the milk industry, whose producers “see their remuneration blocked” around 50 euros below the price of average European purchase for 1,000 litres. The historic drought, which hit Europe this summer, reduced the production of grass to feed dairy cows, and drove up the price of animal feed by around 25%, further strangling breeders. “If we refuse to pay for the milk at the price of its production costs, tomorrow we will be forced to import it”, fears the Ministry of Agriculture. The agricultural unions and the National Federation of Milk Producers (FNPL) are asking in this respect that the liter sold on the shelves is revalued at the symbolic price of one euro.