Price of foodstuffs will go up 30%

 In Foodstuffs and beverages, Inflation, News

The General-Director of Portugal’s distribution companies association APED has warned that food costs will rise by 30% but supples will not break down.

Gonçalo Lobo Xavier of the Associação Portuguesa de Empresas de Distribuição (APED) says that there will not be empty shelves in supermarkets even if the average cost of many foodstuffs could rise by as much as 30% because of the war in Ukraine.
“I would like to begin by reassuring people that there will not be a rupture in the supply of products. There is no need to rush to the supermarkets and panic buy”, he said at the annual conference organised by the Association of Specialised Credit Institutions which took place in Lisbon on Tuesday.
According to Gonçalo Lobo Xavier there is a number of intrinsic risks resulting from all that is happening”, more precisely rising prices. This is causing a “distortion in the supply chain” he said, stressing that stock would not run out at supermarkets.
The rise in prices that had already been taking place before the invasion of Ukraine, both in terms of energy and fuel costs as well as raw materials will only get worse and hit consumers’ pockets.
“The average increase in the cost of foodstuffs will be around 30%”, said the general-director of APED, adding that this would have an impact on families’ disposable income. “This is a huge challenge we’ll face both in physical and digital sales.”
“Consumers will tighten their purse strings” admitted the President of the Portuguese Confederation of Trade and Services (CCP), João Vieira Lopes at the same event.
“In Portugal there will be a shock caused by inflation and the financial difficulties that families will feel” in a scenario where it is “impossible for companies to keep wages in line with the level of inflation.”
“We probably might see some social instability” he said, adding “we’re witnessing a perfect storm”.