Germany unattractive as a business location

By: Trademagazin editor Date: 2024. 05. 14. 09:23

The Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) has issued an urgent warning that the cost burden is increasingly becoming a location decision or even a question of existence for companies in the German confectionery industry.

This is due in particular, but not only, to the sharp rise in raw material, energy and logistics costs over the last two years, but also to location-related burdens that have already been above average in Germany in the long term. These include taxes and duties, labor costs and bureaucratic burdens. All these burdens are increasingly choking off companies.

There is no sign of any easing in cocoa and sugar prices in particular. Last year, the global market price for cocoa exploded and more than tripled. At times, it was traded at over EUR 10,000 per tonne at the New York and London stock exchanges. By contrast, inflation has fallen significantly in 2024 and currently stands at 2.2 percent.

“In the interests of the more than 200 companies in the confectionery industry and their 60,000 employees, employers expect the trade union to show a sense of proportion and realism in the upcoming regional collective bargaining negotiations,” says Dr. Mario Mundorf, Managing Director of Collective Bargaining Policy at the BDSI. “The list of demands presented to us by the NGG with a 9.9 percent wage increase is unrealistic and therefore inconceivable for us.

Lebensmittelpraxis