Madrid’s bars and restaurants, which opened after the coronavirus pandemic, including hotels, have faced an unexpected problem. Even in the famous Cafe Comercial, one of the oldest cafes in Madrid, according to AFP, tourists can not find many popular drinks: the pandemic has caused an acute shortage.
“It is difficult to secure supplies. Certain brands of gin, tequila and whiskey cannot be found. The lack of stocks is demonstrated even by well-known international brands, which we could not have imagined would become unavailable, ”the manager of the famous cafe Raul Garcia told the agency.
The supply chain problem provided by the pandemic has affected all bars and clubs – they have all been trying to fill their shelves for a month – since the restrictions on Covid-19’s social life have been lifted. The deficit is not general, but focuses on some brands. The problem is that tourists are very attached to these brands, ”said Roberto Uselai, manager of Los Olivos Beach Resort in Tenerife, part of the Spanish Canary Islands. These include Beefeater gin, Absolut vodka and Patron tequila.
The shortage of beverages is caused in particular by the global shipping crisis, provoked by growing demand from China and the United States, which “affects all international trade.” This is stated in a statement by the Spanish Association of Spirits Espirituosos Espana. As a result, suppliers have to deal with the lack of bottles and cartons needed to pack alcohol, as well as the lack of drivers, containers and trucks to transport it. “It’s not a problem of product availability, it’s a problem of delivery,” said French spokesman Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-largest alcohol producer.
At the same time, in Spain, the problem is complicated by the structure of consumption in the country – popular, including among returning tourists – it is mainly consumed in bars and restaurants. They account for almost half of all alcohol sales in Spain, while in France – only one-fifth. “Spain is the country with the largest number of bars and restaurants per capita,” said Daniel Metier, an analyst at London-based consulting firm IWSR. He also added that the Spanish supply system is “fragmented and includes many players”, which exacerbates the difficulties.
He also said that the impact of the pandemic and lockdown had not gone unnoticed – when viral restrictions on social life were in effect, bars cut their orders and liquidated their alcohol stocks, and now that the business has revived, it takes time to replenish them.
The Spanish Association of Alcohol Producers predicts that the problem will not last long, but with the approach of a busy Christmas holidays, companies are concerned.