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Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on June 9 he had secured a
pledge from some companies to cut prices on hundreds of
products, under threat of financial sanctions if they fail to
follow through.
The French government is using the list, produced by a research
group, as a reference for the project, according to three
sources with knowledge of the matter. France's economy ministry
said it was unable to confirm or deny the list.
Unilever, the maker of Hellmann's mayonnaise and Knorr soup,
told Reuters on June 9 it was one of the companies included in
the government's plan. French media recently identified others,
including Coca-Cola, Mondelez, and Nestle.
But the list seen by Reuters includes a broad array of food
makers such as French agricultural group Avril, as well as some
of the world's biggest drink makers including Pernod Ricard.
Danone and Nestle declined to comment, while Kellogg, Coca-Cola,
Mondelez and brewer ABI did not respond to a request for
comment. Pernod Ricard referred Reuters to its trade body.
The move by the French government, if successful, could
strong-arm some of the companies that have had price increases
of 10% or more in recent months to reopen negotiations on prices
with major retailers, and pressure their profit margins.
French officials have for months been furious at supermarket
prices touching record highs even as costs of many food
producers' raw materials have been declining.
Makers of everything from ice cream to cleaning products have
been raising prices, saying they need to keep up with soaring
costs after the Ukraine war made energy and other commodities
even more expensive than during the pandemic.
Some consumer goods makers have said recently that costs are
starting to ease, leading lawmakers and regulators to accuse
companies of keeping prices high unnecessarily.
Investors have in recent months warned that consumer goods
companies should start easing price increases as supply chain
costs decline, worried that further hikes could hit market share
and margin growth.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Jan
Harvey)
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