Since the city of São Paulo began adopting restrictive measures to combat Epidemic of the new coronavirus, markets have faced an atypical movement, with a lack of basic products.
Customers who were looking for rice in the west zone or wheat flour in Jardins were left without the product this Friday night (20).
According to the supermarket association, the city is not facing a supply crisis. Empty shelves are caused by high turnover and difficulty replenishing stock, such as during major holidays.
Alcohol gel is still in short supply
Basics are missing. At the Dia supermarket on Teodoro Sampaio Street in the Pinheiros neighborhood of western São Paulo, basic items were missing, including rice and almost all brands of sugar, as well as other less essential items like yogurt.
The products out of stock often vary from day to day. They can be just wheat products (like bread) or animal protein. Last Wednesday (18), the store's empty shelves were in the dairy and vegetable sections, both of which were fully stocked this Friday.
A cashier explained to customers that part of the stock would be replenished this evening or on Saturday (21) morning.
At Pão de Açúcar on Oscar Freire Street, in Jardins, the store's organization has not left any shelves empty — but that doesn't mean there isn't a shortage of products.
On Friday night, the unit was experiencing shortages of food items like wheat flour and coconut water. Markets, including pasta, some vegetables, and various types of bread, like bagels and whole-wheat sliced bread, were nearly gone.
Among the shelves, a notice stated that “to encourage conscious consumption,” the chain limited the sale of products, such as water, sugar and soybean oil, per customer.
According to the report, the employee rearranging the shelves stated that new shipments arrive daily in the morning. In other words, demand has been so high that some products have sold out while others were in stock but had not yet been replenished.
The only product not found in any of the three markets visited was the sought-after hand sanitizer. The report witnessed consumers asking for the product and receiving a negative response on more than one occasion.
There is no shortage, says association
Thus, Apas (São Paulo Supermarket Association) stated that there are no shortages in the city. According to the group, demand is so high that markets have not had time to replenish their shelves.
The association compares the current situation to days with very intense consumer movement, such as Christmas and Easter, when some shelves are also empty, but this is not a case of shortages.