GENERAL Mills, one of the world's bigger food makers, has a message for Australian consumers angry about high food prices: don't blame us.
The head of General Mills's international operations has rejected claims by Woolworths and Coles that international consumer goods companies are making abnormally high profit margins in Australia and driving up the cost of food.
General Mills international chief operating officer Chris O'Leary told The Australian Financial Review the company was making lower margins in Australia than in other countries and was trying to minimise price rises by cutting costs.
Mr O'Leary said retailers were passing on consumer concerns after a sharp spike in food price inflation in the past few years, driven in part by increased demand for soft commodities from developing nations. "I think inflation will remain but less than we've seen in the last few years," he said.
Woolworths chief executive Michael Luscombe told the AFR in August: "Clearly, if inflation is an issue in this country we need a bit more transparency around the margins that multinationals are making on products, because clearly those prices are reflecting in our sell prices."
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