Some supermarkets limit shopping to a couple of bags per person per day in the heat wave

Ice is one of the protagonists of the summer. And some supermarkets are limiting the purchase of ice packs to two units. Also, in the heat wave, the demand for ice increases. It’s more expensive to produce and supermarkets are getting less ice. To avoid running out of stock, some have decided to limit the number of bags each customer can take.

“The purchase of cubed and crushed ice is limited to two bags per customer per day,” says a poster in a supermarket chain. Many of these companies are obliged to limit this product due to the high demand for heat, as well as the scarce supply, due to energy restrictions. This decision is expected to be temporary.

The reactions on the part of the people have not been long in coming, assuring some that “it seems that we are returning to the confinement, that we the flour and sunflower oil were rationed”.

For its part, the Consumers and Users Organization (OCU) stresses that households will face this year an extra cost of more than 830 euros in the annual food expenditure. Some products that have risen are sunflower oil, flour, eggs or pasta, among others.

An example of the lack of supply that supermarkets are suffering are Consum and Mercadona. On the one hand there is the Valencian cooperative, Consum, which has seen consumption restricted to “two bags” per customer. On the other hand there is Mercadona, which has limited consumption to five bags or one sack per customer per day.

Both chains insist that the measure has been taken to avoid “shortages” of the product, given that there are problems in the sector. Ice producers claim that the price of plastic for packaging, in addition to the increase in fuel (used for transport) and light are causing a lack of stocks.

In Spain, in 2015, it suffered another shortage of ice supply because of the strong heat wave, since the industry had no forecast of the demand that occurred that summer. But now the problem lies in high inflation, rising prices or high demand this summer.