In Spain, the heatwave and high energy prices have caused, among other things, shortages of... ice cubes.
Supermarkets are imposing restrictions on the quantities each customer can buy and bars are running out of ice cubes for the drinks they serve. Supermarket chain Mercadona has limited ice sales to five bags of ice per customer. Another chain, Consum, allows only two.
At the beginning of the year, ice cream makers curtailed production amid increases in electricity bills and uncertainty (due to Covid-19) about demand levels during the summer months.
But with tourism having recovered - approaching pre-pandemic levels - and this summer being one of the hottest in Spain's history, companies involved in the production and distribution of ice cubes are... running short. The high temperatures combined with the relaxation of anti-pandemic restrictions have spiked demand.
Ricardo Blasco,[/B] owner of one of Madrid's oldest ice factories, Blasco Ice, says electricity bills have risen by 50-60% since the beginning of the year and has delayed the start of this year's production (it began in May instead of March) to partially offset the increased costs.
Its plant now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Basco explains that he cannot increase his production and has lost sleep over concerns that his customers will be unhappy. "It's hard when you can't satisfy everyone, even if you want to," he says and assures: "We really do what we can."
Meanwhile, in many supermarkets, shoppers are seeing empty freezers where they expected to find bags of ice cubes. Most resort to petrol stations and neighbourhood grocery stores in search of supplies.
[/P]Merthéndez Nieto, owner of a bar in Madrid, explains that she is facing a serious problem because of the shortages. "If this continues, we will find it difficult to keep the shop open," she told Reuters, serving mojitos.
[/P]Source.gr
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