The production season of French tomatoes is already well underway, and French producers, members of Légumes de France, are denouncing the abusive margins of some supermarket chains that penalize both producers and consumers.
Mass retailers suffocate French producers
For several months, French producers have been faced with the explosion of production costs (energy, inputs...), a situation of which mass retailers are well aware. Still, most of them voluntarily turn their backs on producers by applying abusive margins on French tomatoes. This behavior reflects their lack of consideration for the commitment to food sovereignty, contrary to their self-advertising.
Such inadmissible practices have some very concrete consequences. They threaten the financial health of producers, and the excessively high prices for end consumers make them turn away from French products in favor of imported products (from Morocco).
For example, the gross margin on cluster tomatoes from France had already reached 1.82€ [2.00 USD] at the end of March, a margin rate of 84% compared to 28% on the 3-year average. In week 15, the gross margin was 1.64€ [1.80 USD], a margin rate of 73% compared to 55% on average over 3 years.
Today, producers are therefore asking retailers to apply reasonable margins that will allow them to properly sell the volumes produced throughout the French production season. These legitimate demands would also allow consumers to buy French products at a fair price.”
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