The first report of the “inflation working group” calls for better monitoring of price formation.
A week after the publication of a Senate report pinning the actors of the large distribution for questionable price increases, it is the turn of the National Assembly to refer back to back brands and suppliers on the responsibility for the price increase in Ray. A snub for Michel-Édouard Leclerc, the president of the E. Leclerc centers, who had accused the food manufacturers by pointing to price increases “suspects“.
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Led by the “Inflation working groupLed by LFI-Nupes MP Aurélie Trouvou and her colleague from the Horizon group Xavier Albertini, the report is the result of three weeks of hearings and round tables, which made it possible to meet 38 players in the sector, economists and experts. . A work of investigation which also made it possible to underline the lack of reliable information and the weakness of the available data, “which do not allow conclusionsimmediately on the causes of price increases. In question, the problemsof time“, but also “of transparency“, according to Aurélie Trouvé.
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High margins
On the question of fixing prices on the shelves, distributors and manufacturers blame each other for the slowness of trade negotiations and hidden increases. Manufacturers complain of beingcaught in a vicebetween the increase in prices upstream and the impossibility of being able to pass them on downstream. They accuse the cast of having excessive demands for “overtransparency“. An alibi, according to them to save time or obtain protected information. Conversely, distributors are asking for more information on the requests for increases made by agrifood groups. They point in particular to requests for increases which vary greatly between suppliers for the same product, as well as the soaring profits of certain players.
For their part, the rapporteurs draw several conclusions, similar to those of the senators. First, the actors all expect that “rising food prices“reaches its peak – between 7 and 10% – “in autumn” next. Next, “our work did not lead to the conclusion of systemic abusive behavior on the part of manufacturers or distributorssaid Xavier Albertini to the Economic Affairs Committee.
However, the report points out that “gross margins for distributors remain relatively high», of the order of 25 to 30%. For its part, the DGCCRF, quoted in the document, stresses that it is easier for operators in the value chain to hide anti-competitive practices in times of inflation. A situation whichseems to justify a more thorough control, on the part of the government, of the behavior of each», underlined the rapporteurs in committee.
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Insider Trading Risks in Energy
Same question on the energy side. Based on the conclusions of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), the report explains that it has not observed any reprehensible behavior on the French wholesale gas market, while adding that the current situation is conducive to manipulation pricing or insider trading. The authors did not observe any reprehensible behavior on the French electricity market either, while noting that wholesale electricity prices obviously remain dependent on any malfunctions in the gas market.
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The situation could soon change. “The recent trend on the oil market, however, seems to be moving towards an upward stabilization in the coming months.“says the report. An assertion justified by a rebalancing of supply and demand and the prospect of a slowdown in global growth. The deputies do not intend to stop there: they return to the start of the school year to continue this investigative work.
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