Europe’s largest food retailer Carrefour will block the prices of 200 products which will be sold at an average of €2 from mid-March to mid-June, the company’s CEO Alexandre Bompard told Journal du Dimanche on Sunday as food prices are reported to have increased by 14.5% in the past year.
The price will be frozen for 100 so-called “daily” products such as laundry detergent, flour, and baby diapers, and for 100 others labelled “healthy”, which include yoghurt, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as bread and cereals.
“The end of negotiations with manufacturers suggests a further increase (of prices). This is a new violent shock for the most fragile households,” said Bompard.
Speaking of food inflation, which according to the French statistics institute INSEE has increased by 14.5% in one year, Bompard said: “The level of food inflation will remain in double digits until this summer, probably rising above that currently achieved.”
Food prices were supposed to be frozen across supermarket retailers, according to statements made last December by SME Minister Olivia Grégoire, though this idea was rejected by most distributors, Journal du Dimanche reported.
“We found a very good agreement” with the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, said Bompard in the interview; noting that retailers are now free to decide how to operate
“It was essential that all the players could commit at the same time, but with full autonomy of action. The result will be all the more powerful,” he added.
Individual price-blocking announcements were made by Intermarché and Système U supermarkets. (Clara Bauer-Babef | EURACTIV.fr)
Source: euractiv.com
