Guest of the “Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-M6-Public Sénate” on Sunday, the spokesperson for the centers E. Leclerc also affirmed that the meat sold in its supermarkets came “99%” from outside the Mercosur zone.
In a context of discontent among farmers, who denounce the margins of mass distribution, the charismatic president of the strategic committee of the E. Leclerc centers, Michel-Édouard Leclerc, does not intend to give in. “Manufacturers must be transparent. We don't buy milk from the farm. We buy it from Danone, Yoplait, etc. (…) They are the ones who are not transparent» on the prices of agricultural raw materials, launched the representative of the leader in large-scale food distribution, guest on Sunday of the “Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-M6-Public Sénate”. This is enough to seriously make agri-food manufacturers cringe, who are preparing for a new showdown with distributors over the annual prices of consumer products for 2025. The negotiations must be held between December 1 and March 1.
To respect the price of agricultural raw materials, as provided for in the Egalim law – which governs commercial relations between manufacturers and large retailers -, Michel-Édouard Leclerc once again insists on the need for manufacturers to close their purchase contracts with farmers upstream, before starting negotiations with distributors. This is the famous “forward” construction of the price of a food product, which would be done based on the farmer's production costs.
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“99%, we do not sell meat from Mercosur”
A position shared by the main agricultural union, the FNSEA, as well as by the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD). Today, agri-food companies “are satisfied with a certification from their accountants to say that they have indeed purchased French, etc.», Affirms Michel-Édouard Leclerc, who considers that this is not satisfactory. “They must also be transparent about the origin of the productsinsists the manager. I am asked to pay for Spanish pork at the French producer's price, because it is a French producer who sells it to me.»
Asked about the controversial EU-Mercosur draft treaty (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia), which provides for the elimination of customs duties and raises serious concerns among French farmers, the leader affirmed that “99%, we do not sell meat from Mercosur. This week, Carrefour then Intermarché announced that they were committed not to market meat from Mercosur in support of the agricultural world. Here again, the representative of the centers, E. Leclerc, attacks the agri-food manufacturers, who “must tell us in processed products where their products come from. According to him, “this agreement is not completed and must not be signed».
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