Four French-speaking professional federations in the food sector are calling on the federal government to set the price of electricity at a maximum of 100 euros per megawatt-hour.
Owners of franchised self-service stores, butchers, bakers and members of the catering industry (hotels, cafés, restaurants) believe that this is the only solution allowing them to survive their activities, which they predict will almost disappear in the short or medium term. if this action is not taken.
The representatives of these sectors launched Tuesday morning in Brussels during a press conference a real distress call to the government. They believe that the current electricity prices, hovering around 500 euros per megawatt, no longer allow the survival of their businesses and that the aid measures already taken are far from being able to save the situation.
Thus, according to the representatives of the professional association of independent self-service in food (aplsia), the current prices of energy and the indexation of wages represent for them a net loss of 1 to 7 euros per shopping cart of goods worth 100 euros, whereas normally, they earn 2 euros on this same cart. This situation puts 90% of the sector in difficulty and threatens to cause many closures, they warn.
The situation is similar for the 2,000 artisan butchers in Wallonia and Brussels, who manage 5,000 points of sale and claim to generate 50,000 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs. Large users of fridges and other freezers, they estimate that if the price of electricity remains at the current level, their energy bill will be multiplied by ten. If they were to pass it on to their selling prices, the average price of steak would rise from 25 to 45 euros per kilo and country sausage from 12 to 20 euros per kilo. After the Covid, this crisis will definitely make artisan butchers disappear, with local trade and short and eco-responsible circuits, said the representatives of the Federation of butchers and delicatessen caterers.
Large consumers of electricity (fridges, freezers, ovens, mixers, etc.), bakers and pastry chefs are faced with the same problems. Representatives of the French Federation of Bakery, Pastry, Ice Cream, Confectionery, Chocolate, say that many businesses in their sector have already closed their doors and that others will do so soon, when their contract for the supply of electricity at fixed will end. They speak squarely of the disappearance of the Belgian bakery-pastry industry. Belgium imports strawberries from Spain, “if this continues, we will import bread from Spain” predict the representatives of the sector.
The increase in the price of foodstuffs and electricity bills lead to an increase in prices ranging from 15 to 30 euros that it is not possible to pass on to consumers, estimates the Horeca Wallonia Federation. She adds that after the damage caused in the sector by the Covid crisis, today is one crisis too many. While people are already limiting their outings to cafes or restaurants, almost 60% of businesses say they will end 2022 at a loss, if they don’t receive additional support, says the Federation.
We must act quickly, otherwise bankruptcies will threaten 300,000 direct jobs in activities revolving around food, estimate the four French-speaking federations. They also regret not being able to act in concert with the Flemish professional organizations in the same sector of activity. They do not have the same motivations as us, because the aid from the Flemish government to respond to the Covid crisis and to the current crisis is much greater than in Wallonia and Brussels, underline the French-speaking federations.
To concretize their cry of alarm, their representatives exhibited during their press conference a small cardboard plate containing a meatball, five fries and a little sauce, flanked by a sheet of paper displaying “price 25 euros”.
Owners of franchised self-service stores, butchers, bakers and members of the catering industry (hotels, cafés, restaurants) believe that this is the only solution allowing them to survive their activities, which they predict will almost disappear in the short or medium term. if this measure is not taken. The representatives of these sectors launched Tuesday morning in Brussels during a press conference a real distress call to the government. They believe that the current electricity prices, hovering around 500 euros per megawatt, no longer allow the survival of their businesses and that the aid measures already taken are far from being able to save the situation. Thus, according to the representatives of the professional association of independent self-service in food (aplsia), the current prices of energy and the indexation of wages represent for them a net loss of 1 to 7 euros per shopping cart of goods worth 100 euros, whereas normally, they earn 2 euros on this same cart. This situation puts 90% of the sector in difficulty and threatens to cause many closures, they warn. The situation is similar for the 2,000 artisan butchers in Wallonia and Brussels, who manage 5,000 points of sale and claim to generate 50,000 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs. Large users of fridges and other freezers, they estimate that if the price of electricity remains at the current level, their energy bill will be multiplied by ten. If they were to pass it on to their selling prices, the average price of steak would rise from 25 to 45 euros per kilo and country sausage from 12 to 20 euros per kilo. After the Covid, this crisis will definitely make artisan butchers disappear, with local trade and short and eco-responsible circuits, said the representatives of the Federation of butchers and delicatessen caterers. Large consumers of electricity (fridges, freezers, ovens, mixers, etc.), bakers and pastry chefs are faced with the same problems. Representatives of the French Federation of Bakery, Pastry, Ice Cream, Confectionery, Chocolate, say that many businesses in their sector have already closed their doors and that others will do so soon, when their contract for the supply of electricity at fixed will end. They speak squarely of the disappearance of the Belgian bakery-pastry industry. Belgium imports strawberries from Spain, “if this continues, we will import bread from Spain” predict the representatives of the sector. The increase in the price of foodstuffs and electricity bills lead to an increase in prices ranging from 15 to 30 euros that it is not possible to pass on to consumers, estimates the Horeca Wallonia Federation. She adds that after the damage caused in the sector by the Covid crisis, today is one crisis too many. While people are already limiting their outings to cafes or restaurants, almost 60% of businesses say they will end 2022 at a loss, if they don’t receive additional support, says the Federation. We must act quickly, otherwise bankruptcies will threaten 300,000 direct jobs in activities revolving around food, estimate the four French-speaking federations. They also regret not being able to act in concert with the Flemish professional organizations in the same sector of activity. They do not have the same motivations as us, because the aid from the Flemish government to respond to the Covid crisis and to the current crisis is much greater than in Wallonia and Brussels, underline the French-speaking federations. To concretize their cry of alarm, their representatives exhibited during their press conference a small cardboard plate containing a meatball, five fries and a little sauce, flanked by a sheet of paper displaying “price 25 euros”.
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