In Antioquia there is a shortage of some sweets and sweets

According to merchants in Antioquia, some sweets such as gummies, wafers and pacifiers are scarce in the department's confectionery stores. They showed that they have a reduction in their inventories between 30% and 50%, and several references are out of stock.

Some of the causes are related to delays in the global logistics chain and the high costs of raw materials that make production more expensive, which has been revealed by the return to schools which has led to increased sales.

In addition, he added that traders began to report shortages since last year, but it became more acute in 2022. “Demand increased, which meant difficulties for supply. However, this is not new, it has been coming from last year and increased this year with the return to face-to-face classes because there was an increase in consumption”.

For their part, the merchants expressed that prices are very high and there are sweets that are not on the market, “we have been presented with products that are out of stock as in the rest of the food categories, basically it is due to the shortage of raw materials and especially packaging, cardboard, glass and plastic”.

Others pointed out that “there are disproportionate increases in the price of some goodies that we have not imported because the increase has left us out of the market, for now we are not importing certain goodies.”

With this, importers reported that some sweets had high increases in prices, so they chose not to bring them to the country because it leaves them no margin for profitability. Some consumers resort to substitute treats, but others refrain from buying when they do not find the desired product.

This same situation would be happening in Meta and Bolívar. On the contrary, for the time being, shortages have not been seen in the Valley or the Atlantic.

Similarly, he added that “in terms of national product, companies such as Colombina increased prices in confectionery, arguing shortages of raw materials and inputs. In addition, prices for chocolates and cookies have increased in recent weeks. It is also argued that there is an increase in the prices of packaging and packaging”.

In February of this year, according to the most recent report by the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco), trade sales performed acceptably, however, there was a further decline in traders' confidence regarding the immediate outlook of the economy and business. 42% of the citizens surveyed said that the number of physical items sold in January was higher than that sold during the same period last year. 35% considered that there were no major variations and 23% that it decreased.

“The spokespersons for supermarkets in large and small cities have reported a very significant increase so far this year in sales of own-brand products, whose prices are generally cheaper than those of premium brands,” said the president of Fenalco, Jaime Alberto Cabal.

“This phenomenon, they say, occurs in all strata of the population and is a mechanism for defending consumers in the face of rising inflation. The relative good performance of sales in February we believe is largely explained by the celebration by large-format warehouses, special promotions, discount days and “anniversaries”, as well as by the promotion of the school season,” added the expert.

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