2023-07-31 18:25:49
July 31, 2023 Today at 8:24 PM
In the 2nd quarter, cross-border food purchases jumped by more than 70%. The professional federation Fevia Wallonie urges the authorities to act.
Year following year, the food industry federation repeats the same refrain. THE competitive handicaps of Belgian companies boost the prices of food and drink, pushing the consumer to shop across the border, particularly in France. This time it’s a cry of alarm launched by Fevia Wallonia, in view of the figures for the 2nd quarter revealing an explosion in cross-border purchases.
195
millions €
In the 2nd quarter, cross-border purchases reached a record level of 195 million euros (+71%), including 124 million in France.
These reached the record level of 195 million euros over 3 months, i.e. 71% more than in the 2nd quarter of 2022. France accounts for nearly two-thirds of cross-border purchases. The Belgians spent 124 million euros there, an amount more than twice as high as last year. In 2022, Belgian customers spent 315 million euros to buy drinks, meat and bread or cereals in French supermarkets (+59% compared to 2021).
The reasons for this situation are known. For the sectoral federation, the Belgian food companies combine “structural handicaps”: higher wage costs, a “tax lasagna”, an “illegible” Belgian energy policy.
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“The sector’s margins are weakened and our companies are tempted to look elsewhere.”
Anne Reul
Managing Director of Fevia Wallonia
“The margins of the sector are weakened and our companies are tempted to look elsewhere. They have already been approached by French economic development agencies”, underlines Anne Reul, general manager of Fevia Wallonia.
“Ensure local anchorage”
“The cup is full, summarizes Marc du Bois, CEO of Spadel. Companies wishing to integrate sustainable development into their strategy are penalized by political decisions that increase the charges and make their products less attractive”.
499
millions €
The modest growth in investments (+3.4% to 499 million euros) denotes a sharp drop in their intensity in relation to turnover.
Fevia Wallonie therefore appeals to the authorities “to ensure the local anchoring of the first Walloon industrial sector in terms of investments and jobs”, otherwise the situation will continue to deteriorate. Because if the overall turnover jumped last year by 18.1% to cross the bar of 10 billion euros, this only reflects the obligation, for companies, to “pass on the exponential increase production costs”. And the modest investment growth (+3.4% to 499 million euros) denotes a sharp drop in their intensity compared to turnover.
Two positive points all the same: rising employment (3,000 job creations in 5 years) and exports, which reached a record level of nearly 6 billion euros (+22.8%), bringing the trade balance to a positive balance of 1.9 billion.
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