Aurélien Fleurot 9:19 a.m., July 22, 2022, modified at 9:21 a.m., July 22, 2022

As inflation hits record highs, a Senate report has singled out retailers, accused of raising prices beyond reasonable.

The maritime transport sector is particularly singled out, as its cost can climb up to 10% of the price for products such as imported fruits and vegetables.

Who benefits from inflation?

A Senate report has pinned the supermarkets, accused of raising their prices beyond reasonable.

The maritime transport sector is also in the crosshairs.

This is also what drives some MPs to call for the introduction of a tax on superprofits. 

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Among the companies targeted, TotalEnergies, but also shipowners such as CMA-CGM (Compagnie maritime d'affretement - Compagnie générale maritime).

The latter benefited in particular from the strong recovery in maritime traffic, combined with a shortage of cargo ships. 

4% of the product sold to the consumer on average

On average, maritime transport represents 4% of a product sold to the consumer.

For example, it is €1 per pair of shoes if the container comes from Asia.

And that can go up to 10% of the price for products like imported fruits and vegetables.

But taxing only when there are profits is not necessarily relevant, according to Arnaud Aymé, transport specialist at Sia Partners.

“Right now they are making a lot of money, container shipping prices are high, but ten years ago they were very low. In a few years they may become low again,” he explains.

“Now, why not cap profits?” asks the specialist.

"But in this case, you would also have to cap losses for the years in which the shipping companies lose money."

Sustainable increases?

However, the idea of ​​taxing profits if they are sustainable, is not to be completely ruled out, says Sarah Guillou, economist at the OFCE.

"The question is how long will these increases in profits last? Is it really just this year or is it going to be spread over time? If it lasts, we can demand a tax that could finance a fund to make transport cleaner, for example", she asks.

CMA-CGM has proposed lowering the prices of containers for imports to France, without any guarantee that there will be a real impact on the final price of the products.