Milk at gold prices. This is a summary, perhaps a little simplistic but very graphic, of what is on the horizon between now and the end of the year in Spain, regarding the costs of a shopping basket basic. For a few months now, the average price of cow milk received by the Asturian farmer in August was 46.6 cents per liter, 34% more than a year ago, according to Sadei, and in September it reached 49 cents, although the figure is not yet official, it will go up, as predicted by the production and distribution industry. If the payment to the farmer at origin grows, logically the sale to the public will go up. The question is how much.
“We are on the way to reaching a record price, historic, never seen before,” agree representatives of both sectors, although they do not dare to state a figure due to the “volatility” of the markets. What is certain is that some national chains have raised between two and three cents per liter of milk on their shelves: prices range from 75 cents to 1 euro, in general terms.
Rarely has the final stretch of a year been faced with so many uncertainties, fears and doubts about what will happen to the economy as this 2022, in which no productive sector has escaped the scourge of the markets. But the agri-food sector is perhaps one of those most affected by the world crisis (the war in Ukraine only exacerbated its problems, which had already been going on for a long time) and that with the greatest impact on the street because of how much it is affected by the increase in production costs and the great repercussion this has on the pockets of citizens.
Milk shortages
The increase in milk prices is joined by a shortage in the product, more pronounced in the rest of Spain than in Asturias, where farmers, industry and marketers rule out that cartons and bottles will be missing from the shelves of stores and supermarkets. “There will be no supply problems”, assures María Barrado, commercial director of Alimerka, the supermarket with the largest presence in Asturias. “But we are concerned about the increase in the cost of this basic product, which will inevitably lead to a rise in its selling price”.
Barrado is confident that “tensions” will soon ease “so that we can gradually return to normality. For our part, at Alimerka we will continue our efforts to provide our customers with competitive offers every week so that the situation of inevitable inflation that we are experiencing has as little impact as possible on their family economy”.
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