French force supermarkets to show producer prices

19 August 1999

French force supermarkets to show producer prices

FRANCES ministry of agriculture is forcing food retailers to show their customers the price paid to the producer alongside the retail price.

The measure has been introduced to pacify farmers who claim that supermarkets are making huge margins on produce.

The “double-pricing” experiment applies only to French-produced apples, pears, grapes, peaches, nectarines, apricots, melons, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Jean Glavany, the minister for agriculture, hoped it would defuse a campaign of protests by fruit and vegetable growers, especially in the south.

It has been dismissed as useless by the growers and unfair by the retailers.

Most fruit and vegetables are twice as expensive in France as in Britain, despite the fact that the country is generally thought of as one of the worlds great producers.

• The Independent 19/08/99 page 13