PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2022) Food producers in France have asked retailers to raise the prices of their products by 15% to 25% starting in early 2023 amid inflation and rising production costs, Jacques Creyssel, a representative of the French Federation of Trade and Distributors said on Thursday.
"The demands for product revaluation that we have received from manufacturers are extremely high: between 15% and 25% for a number of items," Creyssel said in an interview with le Monde newspaper .
Manufacturers have requested, among other things, a price increase of 7% for pasta and ham, 10% for chicken fillet, 26% for candy and up to 30% for soda, Creyssel added.
According to the newspaper, a year ago, manufacturers requested a 7% price increase, but that figure was reduced to 3.5% during the negotiations.
This year, the level of price increases is caused by several factors including recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, the epidemic of avian flu in France, which led to higher prices for raw materials, energy, packaging and transportation of products, the media added.
According to the analytical agency IRi, as quoted by the media, food inflation in France at the end of November was 12%, which, however, is not enough to cover the increased costs of production.
Western countries have increased sanctions pressure on Russia since it started a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Disruption in supply chains has led to higher fuel and food prices across the European Union and the United States, exacerbating inflation. France's annual inflation in October reached a record 6.2% from July, when it was at the level of 6.1%.
