Madrid: At Café Commerciale, one of Madrid’s oldest cafes, whose marble columns and ornate chandeliers attract tourists and locals alike, bottles of some of the popular drinks are in short supply.
“Delivery is hard to find. Some brands of gin, tequila and whiskey are impossible to find,” Raul García, manager of Prateek Cafe, told AFP.
“Lack of stock affects well-known international brands we never would have imagined would one day be unavailable.”
He is not alone.
Due to supply chain issues due to pandemic, bars and nightclubs Spain Struggling to stock their shelves ever since covid-19 restrictions Social life had completely lifted over the past month.
It’s hacking in a country where social life is centered outside the home, and large groups often meet for tapas or dinner followed by rounds of drinks.
“The reduction is not generalized, but focused on a few brands. The problem is these are brands that people are very attached to,” said Roberto Ucelle, manager of Los Olivos Beach Resort in Tenerife, part of Spain’s Canary Islands.
Popular names affected include Beefeater Gin, Absolute Vodka and Patreon Tequila.
The shortfall is due to the global shipping crisis, due to increased demand from China and the United States, which “affects all international trade”, Espirituos Espaa, the Spanish spirit makers’ association, said in a statement.
Suppliers are struggling with a lack of the bottles and cardboard boxes needed to package the wine, as well as a lack of drivers, containers and trucks to ship it.
“It’s not a problem of availability of products, it’s a problem of delivery,” said a spokesman for Pernod Ricard in France, the world’s number-two spirits maker.
He added that other European countries such as Britain have also been affected by the alcohol shortage, but in Spain the problem is compounded by the country’s consumption patterns.
Bars and restaurants account for about half of wine sales in Spain, compared to just one-fifth in France, where supermarkets account for the bulk of sales, the spokesman said.
He said that when business boomed in Spain after virus restrictions were lifted, this more complex supply chain had to “get up and running again” – a process that takes time, he said.
Daniel Mettier, an analyst at London-based alcohol industry consultancy IWSR, agreed, saying Spain’s supply system is “fragmented and involves multiple players”, which adds to the difficulties.
“Spain is the country with the most bars and restaurants per resident in the world,” he said.
During the months when there were virus restrictions on social life, bars reduced their orders and exhausted their stock of liquor and now it will take time to refill them as business picks up pace, he said.
“He still has a long way to go,” he said.
Spain’s union of spirits makers has predicted the problem won’t last long, but with the busy Christmas holiday fast approaching, businesses are worried.
Los Olivos Beach Resort’s manager, Usele, said he’s been told it will take six months to receive certain brands of Champagne.
“It’s too long,” he said.
Vicente Pizcueta, a spokesman for Noche de Espaa, an organization that represents the nightclub sector, said the problem will remain until there is more liquidity in the market.
“We have a problem with some brands, not the types of wine. Spain is an important spirits producer and has brands that are available in all categories,” he said. “There are options.”
“Delivery is hard to find. Some brands of gin, tequila and whiskey are impossible to find,” Raul García, manager of Prateek Cafe, told AFP.
“Lack of stock affects well-known international brands we never would have imagined would one day be unavailable.”
He is not alone.
Due to supply chain issues due to pandemic, bars and nightclubs Spain Struggling to stock their shelves ever since covid-19 restrictions Social life had completely lifted over the past month.
It’s hacking in a country where social life is centered outside the home, and large groups often meet for tapas or dinner followed by rounds of drinks.
“The reduction is not generalized, but focused on a few brands. The problem is these are brands that people are very attached to,” said Roberto Ucelle, manager of Los Olivos Beach Resort in Tenerife, part of Spain’s Canary Islands.
Popular names affected include Beefeater Gin, Absolute Vodka and Patreon Tequila.
The shortfall is due to the global shipping crisis, due to increased demand from China and the United States, which “affects all international trade”, Espirituos Espaa, the Spanish spirit makers’ association, said in a statement.
Suppliers are struggling with a lack of the bottles and cardboard boxes needed to package the wine, as well as a lack of drivers, containers and trucks to ship it.
“It’s not a problem of availability of products, it’s a problem of delivery,” said a spokesman for Pernod Ricard in France, the world’s number-two spirits maker.
He added that other European countries such as Britain have also been affected by the alcohol shortage, but in Spain the problem is compounded by the country’s consumption patterns.
Bars and restaurants account for about half of wine sales in Spain, compared to just one-fifth in France, where supermarkets account for the bulk of sales, the spokesman said.
He said that when business boomed in Spain after virus restrictions were lifted, this more complex supply chain had to “get up and running again” – a process that takes time, he said.
Daniel Mettier, an analyst at London-based alcohol industry consultancy IWSR, agreed, saying Spain’s supply system is “fragmented and involves multiple players”, which adds to the difficulties.
“Spain is the country with the most bars and restaurants per resident in the world,” he said.
During the months when there were virus restrictions on social life, bars reduced their orders and exhausted their stock of liquor and now it will take time to refill them as business picks up pace, he said.
“He still has a long way to go,” he said.
Spain’s union of spirits makers has predicted the problem won’t last long, but with the busy Christmas holiday fast approaching, businesses are worried.
Los Olivos Beach Resort’s manager, Usele, said he’s been told it will take six months to receive certain brands of Champagne.
“It’s too long,” he said.
Vicente Pizcueta, a spokesman for Noche de Espaa, an organization that represents the nightclub sector, said the problem will remain until there is more liquidity in the market.
“We have a problem with some brands, not the types of wine. Spain is an important spirits producer and has brands that are available in all categories,” he said. “There are options.”
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