No.there are not only the price increases of power and of raw material. There is also a major shortage of carbon dioxide in Europe. And this could cause a great difficulty in finding sparkling water in our supermarkets.
Acqua Sant’Anna has stopped its production of carbonated drinks
Sant’Anna it is the largest European producer of low mineral content waters, with about one and a half billion bottles produced per year. The Vinadio company, in the Cuneo area, has just stopped the production lines of carbonated products (about 30% of their production), due to the difficulty of finding carbon dioxide.
The president and CEO of Acqua Sant’Anna, Alberto Bertonehe explained to theHandle. “Co2 is nowhere to be found and all of our competitors are in the same situation as us. We are desperate. It is another very serious problem that is added to the record increases in the price of raw materials and the drought that is impoverishing the sources ».
Once stocks run out, there may be no more bottles of sparkling water for sale
A similar moment had already been experienced by the producers already a few months ago. «The difficulty in finding carbon dioxide for food had already arisen late last year but we were able to stop what is coming back in these days in the form of a real emergencythat it concerns all European producersBertone continued.
Sparkling water, therefore, risks becoming a rare commodity. As well as all carbonated drinks. As Bertone explained, if the situation does not change soon, “once the stocks of supermarkets and discount stores are finished, there will be no more bottles for sale“.
Co2 producing companies prefer to satisfy the health sector
Co2 producing companies explained that they were forced to significantly decrease production. In fact, now, their main commitment is to satisfy the medical and health sector. «Co2 companies tell us that they prefer to allocate production to the healthcare sectorwe would be willing to pay more for it even if it was already very expensive but there was no way to make our suppliers change their minds“.
Alberto Bertone concluded: «We are desperate. And large distribution – the same that does not recognize the strong increases suffered by our companies due to the increases in energy and raw materials prices (up to 130-150%) – she is angry that we cannot meet their requests for soda water“.
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED