by Ethan Huff, Money Metals:

Half of the food production plants owned and operated by Cofigeo, a large French food conglomerate, have shut down as the company says its energy costs are just too high to stay in full operation.

Four of Cofigeo’s eight food production plants are now closed, reports indicate – these amounting to 80 percent of the company’s total production capacity. This means that Cofigeo will only be producing 20 percent of its normal amount of food for the foreseeable future.