Paris, Jan. 10 - The head of supermarket group Carrefour said on Thursday he expected prices in his French stores to rise in 2008, dismissing government calls for a drop of up to 5 percent.
"I think there will be inflation in 2008, due to the rise in raw material prices. We will do as much as we can to contain it," Jose Duran told a conference organised by the LSA French retail organisation. Duran said prices in Carrefour stores rose on average by 1 percent in the last quarter of 2007 after declining on average during the first nine months of the year.
Asked about calls by French consumer affairs minister Luc Chatel for a 3 to 5 percent drop in prices in 2008, Duran said; "I don't think that will take place."