La friterie de l’Audry, about twenty kilometers from Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes), is its sunny terrace, its crowded room, its fricadelles, sausages, kebabs and, of course, its fries, “3.60 euros the large tray“. That day, for the lunch service, the room was full, the 90 seats were reserved and Karine, the waitress, went from table to table to meet customers, mostly regulars.“Are you aware that the oil has increased?, she asks them. The 25-litre can of 33 euros has gone up to 110 euros… Yes, it’s true!”. “If it’s just for people to fill their pockets, it’s a shame. And it’s true that for you, it’s a big impact”, responds a client.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine – one of the biggest sunflower-producing countries – the price of a can of oil has skyrocketed. And the boss of the chip shop, Gaëtan Flamant, has made his accounts: “We lose 50% of the margin. On a fry that we sell for 2.60 euros per small fry, I lose between 1.20 and 1.30 euros”. And he gets annoyed: “We get plucked, that’s the right word. We get plucked. We need three cans of sunflower oil every ten days. A little more than 300 euros that we paid 100 euros a year ago. month and a half”. “It’s golden fries, it’s golden fries!”, adds Karine.
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Reducing oil consumption is not an option, explains Gaëtan Flamant: “We have to fill the fryers to the right level, otherwise it won’t cook. We can’t even filter it to try to recover because the oil burns. We have to make the change every ten days.” And no question either, in the immediate future, of passing on this increase to the prices of plates of fries. In any case, Edith, 81, does not agree: “Wages do not increase, pensions do not increase. A small increase can be minimal, 50 cents, I say, no more.”
“We can’t sell a tray of fries for 10 euros, it’s impossible. If we pass on, we won’t have anyone left, which is logical.”
Gaëtan Flamant, owner of the Audry chip shopat franceinfo
“People are not going to spend 50 euros just to eat in a chip shop”, abounds the boss. At the end of the week, Gaetan Flamant will replace Russian and Ukrainian sunflower oil with Belgian beef fat, which is three times cheaper. But others have had the same idea and already the prices are starting to soar.