In an interview with Journal du Dimanche on Sunday, October 23, Dominique Schelcher, CEO of the supermarket chain Système U, said he fears food shortages. The reasons are inflation and the surge in energy costs.
It could be that some products will disappear from supermarket shelves in the coming weeks. At least, that is the forecast by Dominique Schelcher in an interview with Journal du Dimanche. The CEO of Système U says he fears that “in a few weeks to months some of the usual products could be missing from the shelves”.
“According to the Coopération agricole, which represents a third of the brands, many manufacturers may soon be forced to make a selection of assortments due to costs being too high: for example, farmers may decide to give up poultry in favor of cereals.”
Manufacturers might decide to neglect more expensive products such as sausage goods and cheese, as well as products that sell less well.
Energy prices and the war in Ukraine are responsible for this.
It could well be that we will have to do without the popular raclette this winter. This is mainly because of the high energy prices, which pose almost insurmountable problems for some manufacturers. Most companies in France do not have a price cap like the one that exists for private households.
The supply shortages are not new but began already with the coronavirus crisis, however, the war in Ukraine has worsened the situation. “At Système U, we still have not returned to the usual rhythm of food supply from before the health crisis.”
For Dominique Schelcher, the situation today is “much more serious than during the pandemic. Everything can change very quickly. Ensuring supply volumes will be almost impossible for some of our suppliers.”