The food companies are organizing themselves as best they can to continue operating, but not without suffering themselves from the context due to the spread of Covid-19. According to a barometer published by ANIA, their professional federation, on Wednesday April 1, the sector’s difficulties relate to employment, supply, production and export.
Panorama on the reorganization
The results provide an instructive overview of how these companies are required to reorganize. First to deal with the absenteeism rate (due to illness or childcare…). Ile-de-France suffers the most with an average rate of 40%. In the companies concerned (45% of those who responded, across France), this absenteeism amounted to 20% on average. In general, 30% of companies say they are affected by a workforce problem.
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To ensure the continuation of the activity, the companies declare to apply good practices, in particular teleworking for the trades which can it and, for those which are in production, the respect of the barrier gestures, the measures of social distancing such marking with the floor or limiting the number of people in a room, but also reducing on-site entry and strengthening social dialogue.
Right of withdrawal and supply
The right of withdrawal at this stage concerns 11% of companies and for these companies, it concerns on average 13% of the workforce. A situation that could worsen if the shortage of masks did not allow them to be distributed to people in production.
Employers also face supply difficulties (40% of them), particularly in packaging and agricultural raw materials. For 70% of the companies questioned, obstacles in terms of logistics and transport lead to cost increases (+ 16% on average for transport).
Difficult access to customers
Turnover is felt for 78% of companies and 26% go as far as to suffer a loss of more than 50%. In Ile-de-France, 44% declare that they will lose more than half of their activity, compared to 21% in New Aquitaine and 8% in Brittany. Conversely, 22% expect an increase.
As a direct result of a drop in activity, cash flow difficulties or even the need for masks not covered, 34% of companies are today concerned by the closure of industrial sites.
More than 43% of them currently say that they are constrained in their access to end markets (large and medium-sized stores, export, out-of-home catering, restaurants, etc.). Difficulties which concern in particular, in supermarkets, products deemed non-essential.
“Viable, for the moment”
In this context, industrialists first argue for a more fluid use
with partial unemployment, a postponement or cancellation of charges as well as aid in favor of the treasury, as well as a more active role of the State in the protection of employees (distribution of masks …).
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” The situation for the moment is viable in a degraded situation, but could quickly be very difficult if this continues in this direction. Explains an industrialist interviewed. And to cite the rise in raw material prices, or even supply disruptions, increases in transport and personnel prices (bonuses offered by the government), and the drop in overall productivity due to the lack of qualified personnel … With , at the end of the day, doubts about the long-term viability of the company.
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