AT Spain, heat and high prices in energy caused, among other things, a shortage of… ice cubes!

Supermarkets are setting limits on the amount each customer can buy, and bars are running out of ice cubes for the drinks they serve. Supermarket chain Mercadona has limited the sale of ice to five bags per customer. Another network, Consum, only allows two.

At the beginning of the year, ice producers reduced production amid rising electricity bills and uncertainty (due to Covid-19) about the level of demand in the summer months.

But with tourism recovering – approaching pre-pandemic levels – and this summer being one of the hottest in Spanish history, ice cube companies… are up and running. High temperatures, combined with the easing of anti-pandemic restrictions, have increased demand.

Ricardo Blasco, owner of one of Madrid’s oldest ice factories, Blasco Ice, says electricity bills have risen 50-60% since the start of the year and have delayed the start of production this year (it started in May, not March). ) to partially offset the increase in cost.

The plant is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Basco explains that he can’t increase production and is losing sleep due to worry that his customers will be dissatisfied. “It’s hard when you can’t please everyone, even if you want to,” he says, and assures: “In fact, we try our best.”

Meanwhile, in many supermarkets, consumers are seeing empty freezers where they expected to find ice packs. Most resort to gas stations and nearby grocery stores in search of supplies.

Mertentes Nieto, a bar owner in Madrid, explains that she is facing a major problem due to shortages. “If this continues, it will be difficult for us to keep the store open,” he told Reuters as he served a mojito.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}