The buyer affiliation Que Choisir Ensemble (formerly UFC Que Choisir) denounced on Wednesday margins thought-about extreme on fruit and veggies bio bought in supermarkets. In keeping with a examine carried out utilizing official information from the Market Information Community (RNM), manufacturers apply gross margins “on common 81% increased” on natural merchandise than on their standard equivalents.
This evaluation comes a couple of days after the publication of a report from the Senate fee of inquiry dedicated to the costs offood. This report denounced “the excessive margins charged on wholesome meals to compensate for the artificially low costs of ultra-processed flagship merchandise”, a criticism that distributors had already contested.
A name for pricing adjustments
To conduct its examine, Que Choisir Ensemble in contrast the costs of 24 fruits and vegetables natural and non-organic bought in grande surface over the entire of 2025. The affiliation explains that it calculated the gross margin by subtracting from the worth paid by customers, excluding VAT, the agricultural value paid to producers by distributors.
In keeping with its conclusions, the margin hole between natural and standard could be significantly marked on sure merchandise. Que Choisir Ensemble cites natural tomatoes particularly, for which “the agricultural value is barely 44% increased than standard, however the distribution margin is 113% increased”. The affiliation believes that this method “significantly will increase the worth of natural fruit and veggies” and calls on manufacturers to “modify” their “pricing coverage in favor of the healthiest merchandise”.
Costs reflecting manufacturing prices
The Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD) Nonetheless, rejects these accusations. In a press release despatched to AFP, its director of research, Isabelle Senand, asserts that “all obtainable and public information present that there is no such thing as a ‘surplus’ within the grande distribution on natural merchandise in comparison with standard merchandise.
The FCD depends particularly on the work of the Observatory for the formation of costs and margins for meals merchandise (OFPM), which might present margin ranges “comparable, and generally decrease” to these noticed in standard or specialised circuits. Isabelle Senand additionally emphasizes that “increased natural costs replicate above all increased manufacturing, logistics and conservation prices”, whereas recalling the necessity to distinguish gross margin and web margin.
