Increased demand for ice in Portugal, but not limited sale
Continente says that the increase in demand from Portugal in July was 93%, admitting the possibility of “sporadic disruptions”, but ruling out the scenario of rationing or price rises, an official source at MC told Lusa.
Supermarkets are limited to the ice packs that Spain sells in number for this product due to higher demand for the product caused by heat and electricity prices.
Contacted by Lusa on the matter, an official source from Continente hypermarkets said that the stores “are not limiting” the sale of ice.
“Continental confirms the increase in demand for this product, a growth (in volume) of 57% in the accumulator for the year, compared to the same period in 2021, and of 93% in the month of July compared to the same period of the previous year”, continued the statement. same source as MC.
However, “in the face of higher demand, perhaps ruptures are sought, but we are attentive to work with collaboration of all partners to ensure our customers seek the impact possible, without rationing or limiting some times in some customers”, he underlined.
“We also add that there was no reduction in production for our stores, nor increase in the selling price to the consumer”, he asserted.
Previously, Lidl Portugal also confirmed the increase in ice consumption in Portugal, as did Auchan, with two retail chains pulling away in any rationing scenario.
“Given the heat that the north of the country has been feeling in recent weeks and months, we confirm that it has led to a very high increase in ice consumption”, today an official source from Lidl Portugal.
At Lidl “we try to work in advance and in partnership with our suppliers – and this case is no exception”, so “we have been monitoring the situation constantly”, especially in stores that record higher sales volume, he followed.
“In this sense, for the time being, we do not consider it necessary to limit the sale of ice packs”, the client concluded the same source.
Auchan Retail Portugal also confirmed to Lusa, on Thursday, that it increased one of the ice sales, but increased for now an adjustment of the rationing scenario.
Get in touch with this topic, official source from Auchan Retail Portugal stated that “there is, among lusa, an increase in ice” this year.”We can say that our supplier already has some production/ice difficulty, but for now, we don’t feel the need for rationing”, the same source.
Also on Thursday, Pingo Doce did not claim to have “any restriction” on sale in its stores and Intermarché is unaware of any “product rationing” in the Portuguese market.
An official source for the supermarket chain of the Jerónimo Martins group said that “Pingo Doce is not limited to selling ice in its stores, it does not foresee any restriction”.
On the same subject, the official source of Intermarché pointed out that the “Os Musketeers group, including its trade insignia Intermarché, is made up of heads of independent companies that manage their stores according to the context of the regions where they are located”.
Thus, “centrally we are not aware of rationing of products, which include ice packs”, added the same source.
In Spain, the rationing in the sale of ice – and the disappearance of the product from supermarkets and petrol stations – when it came to run out as reserves of the product, the result of a “perfect storm” in which it joined the increase in electricity prices and the heat waves that informs the country since, according to.
The ice of ice, with the response to the usual demand of summer, begins to make itself in the initial months of the year, but in 2021, the increase in the price of electricity generated manufacturing and storage costs that took to stop as factories.
Inflation in Spain was 10.8% in July, the highest figure in 38 years, since September 1984.