There is no more fat to be had in cold meats. Manufacturers are on the grill after losing money. Nearly one in three charcuterie manufacturers ended the 2023 financial year with a loss, according to a study by the Banque de France commissioned by Fict, the Inaporc inter-professional organization and the public establishment France AgriMer . A result which only confirms a trend, it was one in four already in 2022.
So, if a third of manufacturers in the charcuterie department want to keep their heads above water, particularly to invest, they will “have to increase their prices”, warns Christiane Lambert on Tuesday, new president of the Federation of French delicatessen catering companies ( Fict). An organization which has around 300 members, companies of all sizes, including the heavyweights Herta, Fleury Michon and Aoste… “Our companies must be able to get out of the red”.
And this statement from Fict is not a coincidence of timing. It is in fact at this moment that the annual commercial negotiations with supermarket brands, the scene of bitter discussions on product prices, are being organized. “There will be no French food sovereignty, there will be no processing in France if there are no profitable companies,” defends Christine Lambert, who has just left the presidency of the main pressure group agricultural sector of the European Union, Copa.
A net margin at half mast
The net margin (which evaluates the income generated by the company in relation to its costs) has further eroded, to 0.9% of turnover on average for charcuterie companies, compared to 2.3% at scale of the entire agri-food industry. “Our charcuterie companies process 75% of French pigs. If they experience difficulties, do not have the means to invest, to modernize, they lose their place on the shelves compared to imported products, which is also detrimental for breeders,” argues the president of the Fict, she -same pig producer. Words that weigh in the balance: let us remember that the meat processing industries represent 32,000 jobs in France…
