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Loblaw帶頭反對加拿大"限價準則”威脅10億成本全轉嫁老百姓
2023年11月08日 加國無憂 哈科
今年一月，加拿大農業部和農業食品部就新法規“雜貨行為準則”的進展發表聯合聲明。該法規旨在提高食品雜貨業的透明度和公平性，這給那些受到食品價格失控沉重打擊的人帶來了一線希望。要全麵介入雜貨店定價，不能隨便漲價。
隨著加拿大首個“食品雜貨行為準則”即將完成製定，加拿大食品行業最大的參與者卻提出意見，該準則可能會加劇食品通脹。
Loblaw公司在11月1日發給製定該準則的指導委員會和行業小組委員會成員的一封信中表示，他們擔心該準則會“使加拿大人的食品價格上漲超過10億元”，加拿大通訊社獲得了這封信。
首席財務官Richard Dufresne在信中寫道，Loblaw不能以目前的形式支持該準則，並要求召開一次行業小組委員會的特別會議，以解決Loblaw的擔憂。
Loblaw發言人Catherine Thomas在一份聲明中表示，該草案麵臨“一係列挑戰”，該雜貨商認為這可能會危及產品的供應和食品價格的上漲。Loblaw的聲明還提到了潛在的“10億元成本”。Thomas表示，這是Loblaw客戶要承擔的額外成本。
Loblaw並不是唯一一家對該法規表示擔憂的雜貨商。沃爾瑪加拿大公司發言人Sarah Kennedy在10月下旬的一封電子郵件中表示，該公司支持有利於消費者的舉措，但它“意識到增加不必要的負擔，可能會增加加拿大人的食品成本，尤其是在通貨膨脹時期。”
在連續的高通脹和一係列的加息侵蝕了家庭預算之後，食品雜貨商一直受到聯邦政府穩定食品價格的壓力。
Michael Graydon是加拿大食品、健康和消費品協會的首席執行官，也是製定該準則的指導委員會的聯合主席，他敦促兩家公司加入該準則。他說，沒有他們的參與，該準則的效力將會降低。
“注冊，成為積極的參與者，參與其中。”
“但如果隻是繼續坐在場邊，在這個過程中潑冷水······這並不符合行業的最佳利益。”
Graydon說，該準則即將完成，計劃在2024年第一季度末之前讓它和監督它的非營利組織建立並運行。
Loblaw的信中提到了該法規草案的特定部分，稱這將使零售商更難追究供應商的責任，使供應商與零售商之間的關係缺乏確定性。並對價格、供應和折扣計劃構成風險。
Graydon說，委員會不想在媒體上討論Loblaw信的要點，而更願意在即將舉行的會議上直接與他們討論。
然而，他和加拿大獨立雜貨商聯合會高級副總裁、該委員會成員Gary Sands否認了Loblaw所說的10億元的數字。
Graydon說：“絕對沒有證據表明，該法規會提高食品價格，或對零售商滿足消費者需求的能力產生負麵影響。”
Sands說，如果他認為該準則會導致通貨膨脹，他也會發出警報。但“我們不相信這是真的。”
製定該準則的委員會是為了響應行業的呼籲，解決大型雜貨零售商向供應商收取費用的問題，這一問題於2020年公開浮出水麵。那一年，沃爾瑪加拿大公司（Walmart Canada）宣布漲價，代表Metro公司(Metro Inc.)的一個全國性采購團體告訴供應商，預計也會漲價。不久之後，Loblaw也提高了收費。
University of Guelph食品經濟學教授Michael von Massow說，看到市場上最大的兩家公司——一家是加拿大最大的食品雜貨商，另一家是美國的主要企業對行為準則表示擔憂，這並不奇怪。
"坦率地說，他們可能損失最大。”
Metro公司，以及Sobeys的母公司Empire Co. Ltd.在周一的聲明中重申了它們將采用該準則的承諾。加拿大Costco沒有回應采訪請求。
如果最終，Loblaw和/或沃爾瑪加拿大決定不簽署該準則，Graydon表示，可能需要另一條途徑來解決該行業的問題。
加拿大政府力推新規：超市、雜貨商店不能“任性”漲價了！
現在，食品價格和超市、雜貨店暴漲的利潤已經讓加拿大人氣憤不已，但情況很快就會好轉，因為加拿大聯邦政府現在離實施首個“雜貨行為準則”又近了一步。
最近，37加元的雞胸肉登上了各大新聞媒體的頭條。這則新聞講述了一個消費者被食品價格困擾的故事，有些人甚至被迫偷竊以度過難關。
就在上周五，加拿大農業部和農業食品部就新法規“雜貨行為準則”的進展發表聯合聲明。該法規旨在提高食品雜貨業的透明度和公平性，這給那些受到食品價格失控沉重打擊的人帶來了一線希望。
“我們要讚揚農業食品行業在製定加拿大首個食品雜貨行為準則方麵取得的實質性進展，”聯邦農業和農業食品部長Marie-Claude Bibeau和加拿大農業部部長André Lamontagne說。
聲明繼續說：“我們已經為這項計劃投入了大量的時間和精力，我們要感謝你們所有人，因為我們正在朝著它的正式實施邁進。”
即將出台“雜貨行為準則”旨在提高食品行業“透明度、可預測性和公平交易”。
當局聲稱這些變化將使雜貨業和消費者都受益，但承認該準則不會解決食品供應鏈麵臨的所有壓力。
據報道，遵守新法規是強製性的，加拿大農業和農業食品部的聲明“強烈鼓勵所有農業食品組織和行業在未來幾周內展開磋商”。
然而，加拿大在這方麵做得有點晚了，2010年，英國和澳大利亞都製定了類似的法規。
Loblaw raises the affordability alarm as grocery code of conduct nears completion
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/loblaw-raises-affordability-alarm-grocery-205145407.html
Loblaw Companies Ltd. said it’s worried the code could "raise food prices for Canadians by more than $1 billion" in a letter sent to members of both the steering committee developing the code and the industry sub-committee on Nov. 1, and obtained by The Canadian Press.
The grocer cannot endorse the code in its current form, wrote chief financial officer Richard Dufresne in the letter, requesting a special meeting of the industry sub-committee to address Loblaw's concerns.
In a statement, Loblaw spokeswoman Catherine Thomas said the draft code has "a number of challenges," which the grocer believes could risk product availability and increasing food prices. The Loblaw statement also mentioned the potential "$1 billion in costs," which Thomas said refers to extra costs for Loblaw customers.
Loblaw isn’t the only grocer to express concern about the code. Walmart Canada spokeswoman Sarah Kennedy said in an email in late October that the company supports initiatives benefitting customers but it’s "conscious of adding unnecessary burdens that could increase the cost of food for Canadians, especially during inflationary times."
Grocers have been under pressure from the federal government to stabilize food prices after a run of high inflation and a series of interest rate hikes have eaten into household budgets.
Michael Graydon, CEO of the Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada association and co-chair of the steering committee developing the code, urged the two companies to give the code a chance. Without them on board, the code will be less effective, he said.
"Sign on, be active participants, be engaged," Graydon said, noting the code will be reviewed after its launch.
"But to just continue to sit on the sidelines and throw rocks at the process ... it’s not in the best interest of the industry."
The code is near completion, Graydon said, with plans to have it and the non-profit organization overseeing it up and running by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Loblaw’s letter mentions specific sections of the draft code, saying it would make it harder for retailers to hold suppliers accountable, create a lack of certainty in the supplier-retailer relationship, and pose risks to prices, availability and discount programs.
Graydon said the committee doesn’t want to negotiate the points of Loblaw’s letter in the media, and would prefer to discuss it directly with them in an upcoming meeting.
However, he and Gary Sands, senior vice-president at the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers and a member of the committee, pushed back on the $1-billion figure cited by Loblaw.
“There is absolutely no evidence to suggest the code would either raise food prices or negatively impact retailers’ ability to meet consumer needs,” said Graydon.
Sands said if he thought the code would be inflationary, he would raise the alarm too — but “we just don’t believe that that’s true.”
The committee developing the code was created in response to calls from the industry to address fees that large grocery retailers charge suppliers, an issue that surfaced publicly in 2020. That year, Walmart Canada announced a fee hike, and a national buying group representing Metro Inc. told suppliers it would expect the same. Not long after, Loblaw also raised its fees.
Michael von Massow, a food economy professor at the University of Guelph, said it’s not surprising to see two of the biggest names in the market — one the largest Canadian grocer, the other a major U.S. player — voicing concerns over the code of conduct.
“They, frankly, probably have the most to lose,” he said.
Metro and Empire Co. Ltd., which owns Sobeys, affirmed their commitment to adopting the code in statements Monday. Costco Canada did not respond to a request for comment.
If in the end, Loblaw and/or Walmart Canada decide not to sign on to the code, Graydon said another route may be necessary to address the sector's issues.
“I think we will need to have some very interesting conversations with a number of governments around regulation,” he said.
Quebec’s agriculture and food minister André Lamontagne, who co-chaired a working group announced in 2020 to look at the fees charged to suppliers by retailers, said it’s taken several years of rigorous work to get the code to the point it’s at today.
A report by that group in July 2021 noted a regulated or legislated approach to dealing with these fees would require provincial action, but that this could lead to a patchwork approach.
Lamontagne wouldn’t say whether Quebec will step in if the grocers don’t all agree to the code.
“I am always an optimist,” he said in an interview, conducted in French.
The federal food minister, too, wouldn’t comment on whether regulation might be necessary.
“In July, Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Ministers were briefed on the significant progress made during industry consultations held in May 2023, and remain united in calling for all key players in the industry, including large retailers, to participate in and support the operation of the Code,” said agri-food minister Lawrence MacAulay in an email.
But Von Massow said there has been, and likely still is, political appetite to step in with regulation if the code falls apart.
“I think that the current environment increases the appetite for doing that, and provides the perception that governments are doing something about affordability,” he said.
Graydon thinks with all the pressure on retailers to stabilize food prices and the accusations of ‘greedflation’ from consumers and politicians alike, it could also be a bad move for the grocers to say no to the code.
“I think it will be a public relations disaster for them,” he said.
— With files from Brett Bundale
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A)
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
