Carrefour makes its own path in China dim
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Jiusan Oil & Fat Co., Ltd. (JOFC), edible soybean oil producer in Harbin, Hei Longjiang Province, has stopped supply to Carrefour in Harbin all-sidely, according to the China Business News Monday.
Carrefour, according to a senior official in JOFC, has made a concession to hold negotiations over the issue.
Carrefour charges more than 18 types of fees to production suppliers, which are seen as exploitation, said a relevant person of the JOFC.
Suppliers are in a tough situation, for the exploitation by supermarkets like Carrefour is so severe, that customers have not tasted any price benefits, said the senior official, adding that large amounts of money have flown to Carrefour-like companies.
From the second half of 2010, though the imported price of soybean oil has been over 11,000 yuan ($1,670) per ton, companies like JOFC are required to stabilize their selling price of the oil in small packing within 9,500 yuan ($1443), said an insider.
JOFC has already been under great pressure, and Carrefour's lifting of slotting allowances will inevitably step on the brake pedal in the relationship between the two.
Previously, Carrefour had already tangled up in a pricing dispute with China's largest food group COFCO Ltd. over the annual purchasing negotiations for the Chinese company's Fortune edible oil brand.
