Lionel Gougelot, edited by Nathanaël Bentura 10:21 a.m., May 10, 2022

The war in Ukraine, the drought in several countries and the avian flu epidemic, these three scourges directly affect our shopping basket.

In the hypermarkets, some basic products are missing, oil, mustard, chicken.

The fault lies with the difficulties encountered by producers, but also with the behavior of consumers.

Everywhere in France, certain basic products are missing: oil, mustard, chicken.

For good reason, the war in Ukraine, but also the drought in several countries and the avian flu epidemic, three scourges that directly affect our shopping basket.

In Templeuve-en-Pévèle, a small town in Hauts-de-France, keeping supermarket shelves full has become a real challenge.

Thomas Pocher, the boss of the Leclerc center in the city, noted that this is not only due to the difficulties encountered by producers, but also to consumer behavior. 

"We are well delivered, but people throw themselves on the products"

The first product concerned is obviously sunflower oil, of which the war in Ukraine has caused a severe shortage.

The supermarket's customers are stocking up on them: "We are delivered regularly on the different product lines, we have private label, first price brands and national brands. However, we are having trouble keeping up because people will tend to jump on it,” said Thomas Pocher.

"It seems all the crazier to us since it's three times the price it was a few months ago," he added.

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Same phenomenon for many oil-based condiments, such as mustard.

"These are shelves that are emptying. We have a frenzy of purchases from consumers who say to themselves 'ouch, ouch, ouch, there will be more'. The price has moved and more people are rushing on it, "said he regretted.

The poultry sector also destabilized

Avian flu and production delays in poultry farms are destabilizing the sector.

“And today we find ourselves having difficulty keeping our shelves,” noted Thomas Poche.

"In addition, it's a product that has rather the wind in its sails, which was not very expensive, but whose price will also increase."

"I'm not used to presenting shelves like that on Mondays. I've been working in distribution for 25 years. We've never had such multiple phenomena," lamented the boss of the supermarket.

Faced with this disrupted market every day, he goes in search of new suppliers, local sectors for example, while trying to maintain affordable prices.