At the dawn of the opening of 2026 commercial negotiations between distributors and manufacturers, the Federation of Companies and Entrepreneurs of France publishes the third barometer of the economic and financial situation of SME-ETI distribution suppliers carried out by the Banque de France.
The three key indicators of the Banque de France study* are trending downward. Profitability : one in three companies is in deficit in 2024, i.e. a deterioration of 12 points since 2018. Job creation : the growth in numbers has been divided by 10 since 2018 and has fallen by two points over one year. Investment in decline : the operating investment rate is below its 2018 level and has fallen by five points in one year. The weakening of the SME-ETI fabric also threatens French agriculture : 78% of their agricultural raw materials are of French origin and 43% bear a sign identifying the quality and origin or a quality label (AOP, Bio, IGP, Label Rouge, HVE…). These processing companies are essential outlets for local, quality agricultural sectors..
Giving oxygen to SMEs
In this context, FEEF calls on the government to simplify the framework for commercial negotiations to give oxygen to SMEs- ETI. For Leonard Prunier, president of the FEEF, “the solution exists : the establishment of annual negotiations with a revisable price for distribution suppliers with less than 350 million euros in global turnover. This is the only way to guarantee a fair price to SMEs whose good economic health conditions the future of our food and industrial sovereignty.".
* ACSEL-Banque de France study for the FEEF (September 2025).
