Many bakeries risk going out of business at the start of 2023 due to rising energy and raw material prices. The government announces aid: example with the establishment of an “electricity shock absorber” to allow these craftsmen to get by. Will these financial boosts be enough to save an entire profession?
” So far I was about 1 600 euros monthly bill sums up Corinne Butard, head of the “L’Épi d’or” bakery. “I received my endorsement and my rates are going to be multiplied by 10. I end up with a kilowatt hour at around 1.06 euros, which is huge. I will go from 1 600 to almost 15 000 euros per month energy bill “.
The note is salty for the manager of the establishment located in Lizy-sur-Ourcq in Seine-et-Marne, an hour from Paris. Here, the daily lighting of all these electric ovens costs a small fortune to the head of the company.
“For the bakery, we have a five-tier oven. We are in full sale of baguettes so there, for the moment, all the floors are lit except one. As soon as we can save money, we switch off», Explains Corinne Butard.
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“We may close for reasons beyond our control. »
She is not the only one in this case. Surprised by this vertiginous rise in the prices of energy and raw materials such as butter, flour, sugar, yeast, an entire profession is worried.
“It worries us because the question we ask ourselves is: “when are we going to close?” Because we feel that the pressure is so important “, says Sahad Zerzour, artisan baker in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
“There are risks that we too will suffer the full force of a closure for reasons beyond our control. It’s not even a question of management, it’s not even a question of quality and work and the like, it’s a question of the relationship between the cost price and the selling price.“, he underlines.
Forced to lay off staff
However, solutions will have to be found. In Seine-et-Marne, Corinne Butard has not paid herself a salary for months to bail out her cash flow, but at this rate, she will not be able to last long. “Two months maximum“, she fears. “We have already had increases in raw materials, we have had the Covid and there, the energy crisis. We no longer have the finances, we no longer have the cash to pay so much per month. »
So she plans to part with some of her employees. “We are bad. There, it was our vacation week, so I called half of my staff back to come to work, to try to have a little bit of cash, to be able to pay the first bill.“, says the head of the company. “From February, there will be layoffs, we will try to raise prices a little, but the consumer cannot afford to pay that much. So, I think we will unfortunately have to lay off“, she resolves.
“Are we going to continue in the profession?»
“Fire“, this word resounds in the head of the head baker who does not want to believe it. “It’s tense in the labs where there’s a bad atmosphere. We only think about that“, describes the baker. “What are we going to do in 4, 6 months? Are we going to continue in the profession, do we immediately think of a conversion or not? We don’t know, and it becomes complicated to manage.»
Bakers who to get by, according to some economists, should sell the baguette at 4 euros. This is unimaginable for these craftsmen who want to maintain the quality of their product at a reasonable price.