The ice supply shortage It is a problem that industries related to food are facing these days of high temperatures, and that not only will distribution at the Malaga Fair be affected, since restaurants and supermarkets on the Costa del Sol they begin to notice the shortage, as highlighted this Friday by the representative of the Association of Hoteliers of Malaga (MAHOS) in the western region, Luis Quiroga.
The hotelier has pointed out that the area is also experiencing a shortage of ice, due to the “increase in the cost of its manufacture, what generates that “go breaking up the supply chain a bit”. In this sense, Quiroga has indicated that the production costs in factories are “shot”, and has ensured that in cities like Marbella or Estepona “in many supermarkets there is no ice”, assessing what is becoming “a luxury item.”
The businessman stressed that in this situation, “many restaurants are already considering buy your own ice machines”something that has indicated that “it is profitable if there is a lot of consumption”, and whose investment would range between “11,000 and 14,000 euros”.
As for the impact of the scarcity of ice on the restaurant sector, he pointed out that “still the problem is appearing”, so he predicts that “it will be a big problem in about 2 weeks”, more in the summer period and current maximum temperatures.
For this reason, he has pointed out that “there are already places where instead of ice, they are putting ice and water”, so customers should assume that “instead of having 5 cubes, they will have 3” while the sector “takes the blow”.
José represents a company that distributes ice in the province of Malaga, but most of its services are carried out on the Western Costa del Sol. As he has assessed, “there is no ice” and this is due “to increase in demand and decrease in supply due to the scarcity of the product.
Several factors come together to generate the first, such as the “rising temperatures”, the lack of product on the market or people’s “want to party” after two years of the pandemic, which causes “the perfect storm”. On the other hand, the increase in costs such as the price of energy, gasoline or plastic have generated a drop in supplyvaluing that in its area of influence it has decreased “by 60%”.
He pointed out that the problem stems from “the powerful manufacturers have not produced enough ice”, assuring that “nobody wants to work to lose money”. In this sense, he has pointed out “the largest manufacturer in Spain” and “its mismanagement”, that “He has left his tires to his customers lying around and then the chain effect has occurred” in the sector.
Thus, he has pointed out that the scarcity of ice is a problem at the national level and not only in Malaga or the Costa del Sol, although he has clarified that events such as the Malaga Fair cause an increase in demand. “The ice is poorly paid and the cost of production has risen a lotfor which the same thing has happened as with the masks or the antigen tests”, the distributor has assessed, pointing out that “we have no production to sell”.
In his opinion, the ice shortage will decline when “two weeks go by”, the “Málaga Fair” is celebrated Y “when temperatures change.