Pingo Doce has no plansany restrictions” for the sale of ice in its stores and Intermarché is unaware of any “product rationing” in the Portuguese market, official sources from the supermarket chains told Lusa on Thursday.
Supermarkets in Spain are limiting the number of bags of ice they sell per customer, given the scarcity of this product due to increased demand due to heat and lower production due to electricity prices.
The lack of ice forces Spain to limit supermarket sales
Contacted by Lusa on the subject, an official source from the supermarket chain of the Jerónimo Martins group said that “Pingo Doce does not limit the sale of ice in its stores and does not foresee restrictions“.
On the same subject, an official Intermarché source pointed out that the “Os Mosqueteiros group, including its Intermarché food business flagship, is made up of heads of independent companies who manage their stores according to the context of the regions where they are located.”
Thus, “centrally we have no knowledge of product rationing, including ice packsadded the same source.
Lusa contacted other supermarket chains, but so far has not received a response.
The rationing in the sale of ice —and the disappearance of the product from supermarkets and gas stations— occurred when the reserves of the product were exhausted, the result of a “Perfect storm” in which the increase in electricity prices and the heat waves that have affected Spain since June have been added, according to businessmen.
The production of ice, to cover the usual summer demand, begins in the first months of the year, but in 2021, the increase in the price of electricity generated manufacturing and storage costs that caused the closure of factories.
Inflation in Spain was 10.8% in July, the highest figure in 38 years, since September 1984.
Source: Observadora
