By George Vichas
It may appear for now that we have left the hard stuff behind when it comes to the pandemic, However, businessmen and workers all over Cyprus continue to face the consequences of the pandemic, while the war in Ukraine creates a new scenario with increases in the prices of various products and questions as to how far the situation can go.
"The effects of the war have not yet been reflected in the real market, this will be done in the coming days, while we are still not over the evils of the pandemic and the suffering it caused in the supply chain," PASYLE's Secretary General said.
Speaking to the Cyprus Times, Mr. Antoniou said that during the pandemic we had some increases that were not so noticeable, in the sense that they were in the range of 3-4%, but unfortunately now because of the situation that has been created, on the one hand energy, on the other hand fuel, raw materials, brought a cocktail of revaluations which inevitably affects businesses with their increased costs but will also reach the consumer and everyone's wallet.
New meat increases from Monday
"Meat is already opening the dance," Antoniou said. "On Monday, pork enters a new increase, which in total together with last week's increase will be around €5 a kilo on average, an increase of 20% in total. After a long time consumers will see an increase in chickens, around 23-25% overall, also 12-13% overall in lambs
PASYLE's General Secretary explained that these increases should have been introduced long ago due to a pandemic as raw materials had shot up earlier. "We all, wholesalers, producers and retailers, thought that the situation was temporary and transitory and that it was only a matter of time before things would normalise and return to normal."
He stressed that unfortunately war brings new circumstances. "Ukraine and Russia together account for 30% of grain exports, which is enough to understand the magnitude."
By way of illustration, Mr. Antoniou, soybeans, last year at the same time were imported to Cyprus for 380 euros a ton, now it has reached 650 euros, barley this time last year 180 euros a ton, today 400 euros, while wheat straw last year was sold at 200 euros and this year at 415 euros, and there is more to come, he said.
"There is sufficiency, no shortage and no scaremongering to worry about"
The PASYLE secretary general appeared to be concerned about stocks. "The only certainty is that there is no shortage in the market and people need not panic," he stressed. "Large suppliers are holding 30-40 days of stocks, while already because of the pandemic they were placing orders much earlier due to delays at the ports. There is sufficiency, no alarmism to worry about," he explained.
As for grain, Mr. He noted that quantities are coming to Cyprus, we have turned to some new markets and unfortunately due to the climate of war prices have shot up.
"Black clouds" in the rest of the retail trade
In conclusion and in response to a relevant question, Mr. Antoniou noted that consumption and footfall is stable
in the food sector and in supermarkets
At the same time, as far as the rest of the retail sector is concerned, there are "black clouds", he said.
As far as the clothing, footwear, electronics, electrical appliances, etc. sectors are concerned, there is reduced footfall, reduced consumption.
As Mr. Antoniou explained to us, people are particularly cautious due to the general situation and limit their purchases to the absolute necessities.
Solutions to be ready, says PASIKA
Speaking to the Cyprus
PASIKA's General Secretary Phanos Leventis, speaking to the Cyprus Times, said that we need to find solutions immediately to be ready, as far as the leisure-food and tourism sectors are concerned.
As he explained, "we have units that deal exclusively with Russians, these units may face a problem. On the other hand, we see that the Deputy Ministry of Tourism is making efforts so that we can make up some of the percentage we will lose from Russians."
At the same time, Leventis noted that there is still the remaining potential percentage of visitors, expressing confidence that things will go relatively well compared to 21, as, he said, no comparisons can be made with 2019.
"Very serious problem of accuracy"
As he explained, "we have to manage the very serious problem of accuracy, and the tourism industry has created some prices that are now being reversed in terms of spending and prices on goods. And leisure centres are paying the steep increase in energy, the daily increases in raw materials and it's a very big part of the equation."
In terms of actions and measures to be taken, Mr. Leventis said that PASIKA is planning seminars to educate its members in an effort to have zero waste if possible, the so-called "zero food waste," he explained.
At the same time, he is also planning seminars on energy conservation, but, he said, these alone cannot solve the problem of punctuality.
"Support should be non-negotiable"
"We believe that support from the EU should be non-negotiable, because with the sanctions on Russia, it has clearly been shown that states and citizens will be affected, especially those whose economies are directly linked to these countries. We will expect the government and the relevant ministries to invite us to see what these ways of supporting the leisure centre industry will be," he concluded.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source[/URL]Cyprus Times[/SIZE]
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