It was to find a fair price to better pay farmers, but it seems to be a failure. Entering into force almost a year ago, the Egalim law has not generally succeeded in curbing the number of promotions that may give rise to a form of unfair competition.

ON DECRYPT

After the anger of the farmers 15 days ago, all the representative organizations (FNSEA, young farmers, peasant confederation ...) has an appointment Tuesday at the Ministry of Agriculture, with around the table the big distribution and industry. Objective: to take stock of the food law. It was supposed to improve the income of the producers, but almost a year after its entry into force, it is globally a statement of failure.

"The folly of small prices" has not changed

Farmers have planned to come to the department with a file full of fraudulent promotions. The law is supposed to better regulate them to avoid unfair competition, and yet, even if it does not carry the name of promotion, "the madness of small prices" has not changed. The profession therefore calls for a strengthening of the controls of the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF).

Another sensitive point is that of the commercial negotiations which have just begun. Legally, manufacturers and supermarkets are no longer allowed to negotiate a price lower than production costs. If for certain sectors such as milk, all players play the game globally, for the rest, including beef, it remains the arm wrestling. "We know that we are being brought here today for a pressure boost," industrialists told Europe 1. For its part, the mass distribution will also be called to order at this meeting. As for the government, it has set a timetable for regularly monitoring these negotiations, which should end in February.