PROPERTY SEARCH
PROPERTY SEARCH
ARCHIVED - Supermarkets in Spain may ration purchases in case of shortages
Stores in Spain will be allowed to limit the number of products customers can buy
The Spanish government unveiled a shock plan this week aimed primarily at reducing fuel and electricity prices, which have skyrocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. But the National Anti-Crisis Plan goes far beyond these discounts, and actually proposes a change to the law so that supermarkets will legally be allowed to ration the sale of products in the event that the supply crisis worsens.
With this legislative change, the government is trying to prevent situations such as those experienced in recent weeks with staple items such as sunflower oil and milk, which many stores ran out of as a result of delivery delays and panic buying. In fact, several supermarkets like Mercadona actually limited the amount of oil customers could purchase at one time, a practice which is not permitted under the current law.
Also of interest: Spanish supermarkets resort to drastic solution to stop people stealing sunflower oil
The National Plan, which was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on Wednesday March 30, says that, “exceptionally, when there are extraordinary circumstances or force majeure that justify it,” supermarkets may ignore the law which prohibits them from limiting purchases.
Before this change was implemented, the Spanish government stipulated that stores “may not limit the number of items that can be purchased by each buyer or establish higher prices or remove reductions or incentives for purchases that exceed a certain volume.”
The royal decree now approved highlights, however, that these measures to allow businesses to skip ration shoppers “must be justified and will be adopted in a proportionate manner when necessary to prevent shortages and guarantee consumer access in conditions equitable”.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
25% Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
Contact Spanish News Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268
