The French "Observatory of formation or food prices an margins : tool for stakeholders an public action[L'Observatoire de la formation des prix et des marges des produits alimentaires (OFPM) : un outil au services des professionnels et de l'action publique]

The French "Observatory of formation or food prices an margins was created in 2010, by the Law of Modernization of Agriculture and Fisheries. This tool, which mobilizes statistical and economic data, aims to facilitate consultation and the search for a shared diagnosis between stakeholders in the sectors and to contribute to the development of public policies through the publication of monitoring and analysis. After the publication of its eleventh annual report in June 2022, this note reviews the conditions of its creation, and its activities and achievements. Since the 1950s, there have been many debates and studies in France about the differences between agricultural producer prices and consumer prices. More recently, the creation of the French "Observatory on formation or food prices an margins" (OFPM) has made it possible to analyse the transmission of prices and the distribution of value in agri-food chains. These topics proved to be central during the "Etats Généraux de l'Alimentation" (EGAlim) (a national government consultation on agriculture and food) in 2017 and the preparatory discussions of the Laws about food and agriculture named EGalim (2018) and EGalim 2 (2021). In other countries, the significance of these issues varies and devices similar to the OFPM are sometimes deployed: "Food dollar "in the United States, "Observatorio de la cadena alimentaria" in Spain, etc. Their work, which respond to public orders, are aimed at consumers, economic stakehorders, elected officials and the administration. Their methods are microeconomic (business expenses and results) or macroeconomic (creation and distribution of value added). The OFPM combines these two approaches. In the first part of this paper, the events and conditions of its creation are recalled. The following section presents some of its work and results, and the last section discusses the challenges facing the OFPM today.