France says some food retailers, producers agree to cut prices

PARIS, Aug 31 (Reuters) – France’s finance minister said on Thursday he had reached a deal with food retailers and producers to step up the fight against inflation, but he singled out Unilever, Nestle and PepsiCo as being among companies which he said refused to “cooperate” with the agreement.

Companies committed to freeze or cut prices on 5,000 everyday products, Le Maire said in a televised interview after two days of talks with sector executives.

He also said companies had agreed to bring forward annual price negotiations – initially planned for next year – to September, with a view of having price cuts from January.

The French government is eager to bring the price of food and other staples down as August data on Thursday showed food inflation – though easing from a peak earlier this year – is still running at twice the overall inflation rate.

Retailers like Carrefour and Les Mousquetaires have warned this week that French consumers are slashing their purchases of essential goods because of the high cost of living.

They have also shifted the blame on global multinationals, with the retail industry lobby group Federation du Commerce et de la Distribution (FDC) saying on Wednesday that only 25 out of 75 big consumer good groups had so far agreed to reduce prices, and just on a limited number of products.

“The large multinationals could do much more,” Le Maire said.

He added that retailers which did not pass on price cuts by suppliers to their customers could face sanctions.