Lactalis stated last week that it aims to “minimise the impact” on the prices of its products caused by the fallout from the war in the Middle East, which has resulted in additional costs of “several tens of millions of euros” for the group. Speaking at the presentation of the group’s annual results in Granada, in southern Spain, Emmanuel Besnier, CEO since 2000, highlighted “the rather complicated context” for the sector and “the instability in many countries in 2025, which we will see again in 2026”.

The war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran since 28 February has set the Middle East ablaze and led to a surge in energy prices. This “has a significant impact on costs, both for transport and packaging,” acknowledged Besnier, warning that his group had “no choice but to pass these costs on to our customers”.

A rise in product prices is therefore to be expected, as in many sectors, but Lactalis will seek to “minimise the impact” on consumers “depending on the product categories”, assured Thierry Clément, Chief Operating Officer. Lactalis, like other food manufacturers, is calling for trade negotiations with retailers to resume as soon as possible to share these unforeseen costs. However, the retailers are not in favour of this at present.