In several European countries, the economic situation has already had an impact on food supplies. As in Spain for example, where the war in Ukraine and the carriers’ strike caused the closure of two Lidl stores. In Belgium, several brands are beginning to restrict the purchase of certain products.
To date, no problem of this type has been identified in France, but several of our European neighbors are facing supply problems due to the difficult context, particularly in Ukraine. The behavior of consumers, worried about the coming weeks, also causes some inconvenience.
This is particularly the case in Belgium, which is experiencing more and more difficulties on the shelves of its supermarkets. To prevent some customers from finding empty aisles, Colruyt, the main supermarket chain, announced last week that it had set limits on certain products. Lidl had for its part recorded restrictions on oil, canned vegetables and toilet paper. Similar measure at Aldi, where customers are now limited to three pieces of wheat flour, oils and basket mixes.
Two Lidl stores forced to close in Spain
According to the Belgian media RTBF, Carrefour, which has noticed a change in consumer behavior, has for its part made the choice on a case-by-case basis. It will therefore be up to each store manager to decide on the restriction on this or that product.
In Spain, the German chain Lidl was forced to close two stores in Gijon, in the northwest of the country, as the newspaper La Nueva Espana learned last week. And for good reason, the transport strike did not make it possible to sufficiently supply the shelves of the stores in question.
The consequences of the war in Ukraine will probably be increasingly important in the weeks to come and could impact many countries in Europe.
