Carrefour has signed a charter with farmer representative group Syndicat des Jeunes Agriculteurs, under which it commits to support French agriculture and affirm its commitment to the EGALIM 2 legislation.
The charter, which was signed at the Salon International de l’Agriculture in Paris, includes five core pillars – promote the farming profession; support the renewal of generations; continue the agro-ecological transition; improve the income of farmers by developing contractual terms; and strengthen local partnerships between stores and Jeunes Agriculteurs.
The charter will also aim to 'strengthen the territorial ties' between farmers and Carrefour.
Regional Contracts Across France
'Carrefour is particularly committed to making better use of local and farm products thanks to regional contracts between the stores and the Jeunes Agriculteurs,' the retailer said in a statement.
'[This includes] a direct relationship between the producer and the store, thanks to a simplified referencing of the products by ultra-local contracts (contract within 48 hours, payment within 7 days).'
'Ultra-Local Offer'
Carrefour, which recently put in place a new emissions reduction target, is also developing what has been described as an 'ultra-local' offer with 650 suppliers, who will engage in direct deliveries to stores 25 to 30 kilometres from their farms.
Currently, some 9,000 French producers supply the 130 Carrefour Quality Line products, while the retailer also has multi-year contracts with 3,700 local and regional producers.
For example, more than 2,500 cow breeders in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region provide the retailer with 55 million litres of milk on an annual basis.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Fresh Produce news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
