The Igalim law to protect the remuneration of agricultural producers in negotiations between large retailers and agro-industrial suppliers “does not work” because it “does not require producers to be transparent”, Boss said in an interview with Le Parisien on Thursday. des Mousquetaires/Intermarché Thierry Cotillard.
“The Igalime law does not work”, declared Thierry Cotillard, president of the Groupement les Muscoutaires (Intermarche, Netto, Bricorama…), calling for a “more restrictive text” because the law in force “does not compel producers to be transparent. “
“Businessmen today have three options during negotiations with distributors that guarantee the remuneration of producers who determine the price of agricultural materials”, but according to him the majority “use the least transparent option, which provides for the intervention of a credible third party, such as That the auditor, at the end of the negotiations, is supposed to certify the maintenance of share of agricultural raw materials.
“The problem is that we cannot verify that the amount is reasonable,” he argued.
Thierry Cotillard, who expects food price increases in 2024 to be “lower than the declared inflation of around 3%”, also spoke about the buying centers that many distributors outside of France have created in recent years, and which are criticized by agriculture. industrialists and agricultural unions.
“Our group does not have one, and it is not on the agenda for 2024”, suggested Thierry Cotillard, “but we must recognize that against Coca-Cola, L’Oréal, Unilever, the purchase of this power plant is a weapon. In the fight against inflation, serving the consumer.
“We should maintain them, but establish a good code of conduct that excludes products with a strong agricultural component from their purchase,” he argued.
Every year, negotiations take place between agri-food companies (from small charcuterie producers to giants Unilever, Nestlé or Coca-Cola) and their supermarket customers (E.Leclerc, Carrefour, Intermarché or Système U) to agree on sales terms. For the majority of products sold in supermarkets during the rest of the year.
Agri-businesses are regularly criticized for outsourcing part of the negotiations to their supermarket clients – who own the largest groups – on the terms of sale of their produce outside of France to avoid French law.
Published at 11:31 am on February 1, AFP
