The first and most important thing about the recent Eurostat survey is that the research was carried out a full 15 months ago in March 2008. So it can’t reflect today’s reality in the grocery sector.
It did not take into account the 7% devaluation in the sector, resulting from significant price decreases retailers have introduced. These price decreases reflect the huge efforts by those in the sector to reduce costs through painful restructuring.
Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII) believes that nine out of 10 food companies froze or reduced wages and four out of 10 have introduced compulsory/voluntary redundancies.more >