Retail chain Carrefour is telling its customers in its home market in France that it will no longer sell PepsiCo products such as Pepsi, 7up or Lay’s crisps because they have become too expensive, Reuters reported.

From Thursday, the French will be able to see a note on the shelves of PepsiCo products in Carrefour stores that “We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases.”

PepsiCo did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The US company announced in October that it intended to raise prices “modestly” this year as demand remained strong despite previous increases. PepsiCo estimated the move would boost its profits for the third straight quarter.

Last year, several major retailers in countries such as Germany and Belgium announced they would no longer place orders with some food companies due to price increases, pressure tactics in contract negotiations that have become increasingly strained due to inflation, and pressure from governments to reduce the price.

A Carrefour representative said Thursday that it was not yet clear whether PepsiCo products already on the shelves would be withdrawn, but said customers could not be prevented from buying those on display.

However, he confirmed that the PepsiCo discontinuance notice will only be posted in stores in France.

France threatens retailers to cut prices

With the French government threatening retailers with draconian measures if they don’t cut prices after raw material costs return to normal, Carrefour last year launched a campaign to fight inflation by putting stickers on products that had shrunk but kept their prices .

Retailers claim that they cannot lower prices on their own, they are obliged by contracts with suppliers to sell with a certain margin in order not to incur losses. Instead, food industry companies say that the price increases they make are due to the increase in costs they pass on to primary producers.

But several recent large-scale analyzes have shown that even as raw material costs have fallen, retail prices have remained flat or even increased.

In France, the government led by Elisabeth Bourne asked retailers and suppliers to reach an agreement on prices for the rest of the year in January, two months earlier than usual, as part of efforts to fight inflation.

In France, prices are agreed between retailers and suppliers after collective bargaining, which usually ends in March, and then remains “frozen” until the end of the year.