Faced with escalating inflation, food companies find it necessary to apply measures so as not to alter the final price of the product for the consumer and maintain a certain profit margin, commented the president of the Food, Beverage and Agribusiness sector of the National Chamber of the Transformation Industry (Canacintra), Carlos Sosa Spinola.
Among the actions, he explained, are adjusting weights, making smaller presentations, reformulating content, as well as establishing direct alliances with producers to avoid intermediaries.
He considered that the rise in food prices will persist in the remainder of the year and could extend into 2023 due to internal and international factors, since in the last four months alone costs have skyrocketed up to 40 percent.
He indicated that even with the Package Against Inflation and Famine (Pacic), which promotes federal governmentthere is a panorama on the subject of prices that had not been seen before in the country and that worries businessmen in general.
“In the first five months of 2022, there have been increases in food prices that have not been seen in years, as is the case of grains that became more expensive between 20 and 40%, which has repercussions that other products of basic consumption such as chicken register an accumulated increase of 20%”, he deepened.
logistics services
Another effect for food companies is the problem of transportation costs, because the number of logistics services was reduced, which has occurred since the Covid-19 pandemic, that is, there are fewer trips by transport companies as they have few operators, a situation that affects freight prices, he commented.
Sosa Spínola said that they are enduring these attacks and are aware that the affected party is the consumer, who at this time buys less to take care of spending and businessmen have repercussions on sales.
He made it clear that the strategy promoted by the federal government is short-term, so it would be prudent and urgent to consider incentives that reactivate production, which would lead to long-term benefits.
He indicated that the federal containment plan cannot be maintained for a long time and it is necessary to see the immediate negative effects suffered by those who earn less, who resent the increase in the cost of the basic basket and limit their purchases.
He mentioned that making agreements with some producers outside the intermediary helps to prevent the situation from becoming more serious, “but it has been the result of the will between both parties and not because of the support of the authorities, who should get closer to know the problem in depth and stop to make unilateral decisions.