Matthieu Limongi (special correspondent to Changed), edited by Solène Leroux 06:22, May 20, 2022

The famous Le Mans rillettes are now affected by inflation.

In April, meat, poultry and charcuterie increased by 5%.

With this surge in raw materials, producers must adapt to stay afloat.

Illustration at Changé near Le Mans, in the Sarthe.

REPORT

The general rise in prices spares no one.

With the conflict in Ukraine, she now even invites herself to our table for an aperitif.

Today, the famous Le Mans rillettes are affected by inflation.

In April, meat, poultry and cold cuts increased by 5%, these are the foods with the strongest increase.

With this surge in raw materials, producers must therefore adapt to stay afloat.

Illustration near Le Mans, in Sarthe, in the commune of Changé.

"The pork took 20%, compared to at least December, that gives you a little of the extent of the damage", begins Mickael Doire, manager of the butchery in Changé, in Sarthe.

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In his laboratory, he does the accounts.

"In addition to that, the price of energy has doubled compared to before. Our rillettes, they cook for 15 hours, and 15 hours of electricity, it's expensive", he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. "There is also the packaging, the pots where we put the rillettes, which have taken 30%. At the slaughterhouse, all staff costs have also increased in the cutting workshops. Transport to bring the pork to us , it's the same. It's really huge", laments Mickael Doire.

From 3.40 to 3.70 euros

A production chain affected as a whole.

So Mickael had to change the label of his flagship product.

"We were at 3.40 euros per pot in early December. In early March, we went to 3.70 euros," he explains.

"We increased our pot of rillettes by 9%, while all our costs on the side increased by 20 to 30%."

Although he was able to react quickly to limit losses, the situation remains worrying.

"If I had been told in December that the price of pork would be at today's price... No one would have believed it," says the manager, who is worried about the future.

"Nobody thought it would go so high. We still have concerns for the next two or three months."

In Sarthe, 16,000 tonnes of rillettes are produced each year.

A sector that also weighs more than a thousand jobs.