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CostaBlancaPeople 29th March - 4th April 2022
29th March - 4th april - edition 934
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Your Essential Weekly read
Restaurant industry hit by inflation crisis
the hostelry industry on the costa Blanca is being forced into raising prices due to the increase in the cost
of key ingredients and transport. Many restaurants suffered the brunt of the impact of restrictions due to the
global pandemic and are now facing new challenges brought about by the Ukraine war. the spiralling prices of food and fuel, and the current transport strike and risk of interruptions to the supply chain, are having a major impact at a local level. reports indicate that many restaurants are being forced to raise menu prices by an average of 10% and even more worryingly, some establishments are beginning to suffer from lack of supply of some of the most basic products such as frying oil and milk. an industry insider revealed that many restaurants who would usually order a week’s worth of stock in advance are having pay out for a full month’s supply of stock to ensure they have a
continuous supply of ingredients. all of this comes as the industry gears up for easter bookings. reports indicate that reservations for easter are currently ‘uneven’ – in pre pandemic times, easter bookings would have been secured at this stage of the year. José María San Matías, general secretary of the elche hospitality association, and member of the provincial Federation of hospitality told the press this week, “the rise in prices is quite pressing and we are having a very bad time, but everyone is raising the cost of their products, it is evident. Most of us work with fairly small margins and we can’t withstand price increases, so you can see on the menus that people are raising prices in the hospitality
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industry to be able to continue working without dying. there are also supply problems, lately the suppliers have not sent certain products, they have not arrived, and the situation is like this.” president of the hospitality association Mar Valera also warned that if the transport strikes bring about food shortages, many restaurants might be forced to close.