The National Syndicate Chamber of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Producers published an explanatory statement regarding the market supply of bottled mineral water, following the persistence of certain conjunctural difficulties observed in the distribution of this product.
The Chamber reminded that the current supply disruptions are mainly due to the exceptional rise in demand during this summer, which reached nearly 30% above usual levels, due to the country’s severe heat waves.
It added that these difficulties coincided with repeated electricity outages recorded in several regions, resulting in temporary shutdowns of several mineral water production units for varying durations. A situation that, in turn, affected the pace of production and supply.
These factors led to the depletion of the strategic stock built up in advance during the winter period to cover the gap between national production capacities and the high consumption levels recorded during the summer season.
In this context, the Chamber assured that information circulated on certain pages and social media platforms, according to which producers would deliberately withhold mineral water from the market or would stockpile for speculative purposes, is unfounded.
It specified that all companies affiliated with the Chamber are currently operating at the maximum of their available capacities, their main priority being to ensure supply continuity and to respond, as far as possible, to the needs of consumers in the different regions of the country.
The Chamber also emphasized that stockpiling mineral water for speculative purposes is not economically justified, the current difficulties being conjunctural and mainly linked to the peak of summer consumption.
With the expected decrease in temperatures in the coming period, demand should gradually decline, while available quantities should again exceed market needs. Under these conditions, currently creating speculative stocks would require selling them later in a less favorable market context, which excludes any economic incentive to resort to such practices.
The Chamber indicated that the market supply situation is under continuous monitoring, through periodic meetings bringing together the National Chamber of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Producers, the Ministry of Trade and Export Development, and the National Office of Thermalism and Hydrotherapy.
It added that a mechanism of close coordination and communication has been established among the various concerned parties to monitor production levels, available quantities, and to direct distribution operations according to the needs of the different regions.
Supply operations are currently oriented toward strengthening supervision and monitoring by the services of the General Administration of Trade, in order to achieve the best possible balance in the distribution of available quantities among the different regions of the Republic.
The Chamber reaffirmed that all national production capacities are currently mobilized to the maximum in order to meet demand, and that all stakeholders are working in coordination with the competent authorities to restore, as quickly as possible, a normal pace of supply.
It finally called on people to seek information from official sources and to avoid relaying inaccurate information likely to worry consumers and push them to buy quantities beyond their real needs, which could further intensify conjunctural pressure on the market.
