Minister Yolanda Díaz pushed for a price basket both actively and passively. Carrefour tested the approach, and it dominated public discourse for weeks. Yet months later, Spanish supermarkets remained convinced that a limited price shopping cart is not a viable strategy. France, meanwhile, announced a government agreement with the country’s major distributors to offer hundreds of products at lower-than-normal prices in the second quarter of the year. Carrefour and Intermarché are expected to participate, guaranteeing availability of hundreds of items at discounted rates yesterday.
When this issue came to light, the obvious question arose: what about Spain? Industry voices from the large distribution sector argued that the opposition from supermarkets resonates for several reasons. First, they point to jurisprudence suggesting that such measures can backfire. In France, a similar basket was promoted by Nicolas Sarkozy’s government a decade ago, and the industry sources say it led to a perception of lower quality products and harmed supermarket reputations once consumers noticed the effects.
Secondly, they describe the measure as discriminatory because it excludes segments of the population that do not typically shop in large supermarkets. A more concentrated French distribution model offers a wide variety of companies and many people still rely on small local shops, especially in rural areas. According to these sources, the measure would significantly reduce the competitiveness of smaller retailers.
Additionally, broad distribution argues that lowering prices on a subset of products could leave the rest of the market fighting to maintain affordable carts. The question they raise is who will bear the cost if prices are kept frozen across a broad range of items.
In fact, one of the posts from a few weeks earlier involved the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Louis Planas. After consulting with figures representing different parts of the food value chain, the conclusion was that this is a shared problem affecting stakeholders across the board.
Yet Planas himself gave a positive assessment to the French government initiative yesterday. At the opening of a meat fair in Madrid, he urged Spanish companies to propose similar moves there, emphasizing that a food chain law should protect the industry and producers rather than harm them, according to the remarks from the briefing. The milk sector illustrates the delicate balance involved. The largest producer association in Spain, anagrupation of agaprol, warned that if prices keep dropping, partners may be forced to consider slaughtering cows, a drastic step reported by El Economista.