(Ottawa) Seven Canadian executives from large international manufacturing companies such as Nestlé and Kraft Heinz met Monday with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne to discuss a possible plan to stabilize food prices at the grocery store.
The executive director of the Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) association, Michael Graydon, accompanied them and described the meeting in Ottawa as “very good” and “very productive.”
“We are really in cooperation and support, collaboration. […] It is an industry that must align and work collectively to find solutions,” he assured as he left the meeting.
Mr. Graydon said manufacturers want to work with other players in the supply chain, such as large retail chains such as Loblaw and Costco, whose leaders Minister Champagne met a week earlier.
“There is a commitment from our organization and the manufacturers present today to work with retailers,” continued the general director of the FHCP, which represents many companies, including those who were summoned to the federal capital on Monday.
The meeting brought together the big bosses of McCain, Unilever, Nestlé, Lactalis, Lassonde, Kraft Heinz and Smucker Foods at the same table, said Mr. Champagne’s office.
All the leaders dodged the journalists who were waiting for them as they left the meeting, only Mr. Graydon having agreed to answer a few questions on their behalf.
Nearly two weeks ago, Justin Trudeau’s government announced that it was giving the CEOs of the five largest supermarket chains until Thanksgiving to deliver their plan to “stabilize” food prices in grocery store. The discussions include manufacturers who visited Ottawa on Monday.
If the federal government judges the roadmap provided by each major retailer to be insufficient, it threatens to intervene, notably through tax measures.
Asked whether he believes the Thanksgiving deadline gives the industry enough time, Mr. Graydon said it remains to be seen how detailed the plans will go.
“We’ll have to see […] the detail of how complete it can be achieved by then, but I think everyone is working very hard to achieve that,” he maintained.
Minister Champagne should make himself available to answer questions from journalists in the press scrum later on Monday.