Dominique Schelcher, president of Système U, assures Thursday March 17 on franceinfo that the group will “to take on one’s margins” to support consumers in the face of rising fuel and food prices following the war in Ukraine, as requested by the government in addition to its resilience plan presented on Wednesday.
>> War in Ukraine: what to remember from the “resilience plan” announced by Jean Castex
franceinfo: Does the resilience plan have an impact for you?
Dominique Schelcher: What I observe are real impacts on the economic chain. And I feel that this resilience plan is really, really needed.
“I take an example, the fishermen: when they don’t go out because the fuel is expensive, there is less fish, of which this one is more expensive.”
Dominique Schelcher, President of System Uat franceinfo
In stores, more than ever, customers arbitrate, make choices because everything costs them more, especially energy, fuel, heating at home. They buy less beef, for example, and more poultry. We take that into account, we order more poultry, we do more promotions than ever. In this period, we will take on our margins. We are going to support the French in this crisis which we feel is almost more worrying than two years ago with the Covid.
Why are the prices of certain products already soaring?
In the short term, the impact we have on our shelves is that which follows trade negotiations, which aim to defend farmers’ income. There will be better remuneration for farmers on this share of agricultural raw materials, and this is what arrives on the shelves. The impact of the war in Ukraine will only happen in the medium or long term.
“76% of the sunflower oil that circulates in the world comes from Russia: in two or three months, we will run out of sunflower oil, especially for everything that goes into recipes for ready-made meals .”
Dominique Schelcherat franceinfo
The industrial chain will have to reorganize to find a replacement product. Finding a replacement product in a hurry is something that costs a little more.
Are you going to offer an additional fuel discount at the station?
Our fuel margin is 1.5 cents. Our leeway is very narrow. I welcome Total’s gesture, 10 cents is great, but they can afford it. We are different, many stations are already at permanent cost. We will contribute to this small gesture of one to two cents, as requested by the Minister of the Economy, where possible.
Do you plan to raise wages, as the government calls on companies to do?
We have just come out of the annual negotiations for a few weeks, particularly in our cooperative, and so the work has already been done in the short term and we have taken the situation into account. Our branch, last year, was one of the first to react to this whole situation and also played the game. Of course, we will continue to be vigilant. We will continue to dialogue with our representatives and we will continue to support this year if necessary. I think that given the rate of inflation, sooner or later there will inevitably be a revaluation of the Smic already, which will inevitably lead to an evolution on this subject at some point.