Selling leftovers is a ‘creative way to show alternatives’, says supermarket association

The vice president of the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras), Marcio Milan, says that the sale of products such as carcass, chicken skin and leftover food, which has been gaining ground as cheaper alternatives in the face of inflation, is within the law.

In an interview with journalists this Thursday (14), he defined these products as a creative way of showing alternatives to those looking for something different.

Asked if Abras would guide establishments on the subject, Milan declared that all products sold by supermarkets are within the legislation regulated by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), and that these cases are occasional.

“There are some measures that we call punctual things, which end up happening in certain stores or in certain regions, often to meet and even a creative way of showing alternatives, let’s say, for that consumer who is eventually looking for something a little different. “

For Rodrigo Afonso, executive director of the non-governmental organization Ação da Cidadania, the sale of items that used to be discarded or donated, as in the case of carcasses, is an attempt by supermarkets to profit from hunger.

“You see people selling carcasses, bones, all that… As much as it is punctual, it’s absurd that supermarkets let that happen.”

He says the situation has worsened with the growing number of Brazilians going hungry. “Populations cannot consume the products they sell, and what little they were able to use leftovers, are now being sold as well to try to find some way to profit from it.”

report of Sheet showed, for example, the case of Josefa da Silva, a resident of Osasco (Grande SP), who depends on leftovers from the fair and donations to feed her family. She says she noticed the difference.

“Here, close to the house that we are already familiar with, we get carcass, chicken and fat leftovers, when they are available, but it is also very difficult to give them away, because now they sell everything.”

Situation is a reflection of growing social inequality

André Braz, economist at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), says that the scenario is a portrait of the country’s economic situation and its reflection on the purchasing power of families. “I don’t think that’s normal, I think it’s a portrait of a situation that we have to change, and the change comes in the fight against inequality that starts with investments in education.”

For the economist, the opposite is happening. “What we see in political advertising and even in the PEC that has just come out is fighting inflation with a certain artificiality, tax reduction, which makes this blanket shorter and shorter.”

“How will the budget for health, for education, be with these reductions, in which city halls and states will have to bear the reduction of ICMS on telecommunication, energy, gas, gasoline?”, asks Braz.

“Tax on gasoline, cigarettes, drink, on superfluous or luxury goods are welcome in an unequal country like ours, precisely to reduce the chance of things like this happening”, concludes the economist.

Half of the amount of aid should go to markets, says sector

Abras estimates that around 50% to 60% of the extra resources made available to families through the aid approved in the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) Kamikaze may be allocated to the sector, although the data are preliminary.

“We believe that something around 50%, 60%, of this value would come to household consumption”, said Márcio Milan, institutional and administrative vice president of Abras, this Thursday to journalists.

The calculations are not finalized, and they take into account, according to him, all the benefits linked to the PEC, such as increases in Auxílio Brasil and Auxílio Gás and the creation of aid for truck drivers and taxi drivers.

Milan also mentioned the fact that bars and restaurants are open, which was not the case at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which should generate additional demand from these establishments.

Growth

Abras maintained its estimate for 2022 of growth of 2.8% in household consumption, an indicator prepared by the entity and which includes sales of all food retail formats operated by the supermarket sector. Milan said, however, that the projection could be revised in July.

The PEC raises Auxílio Brasil from R$400 to R$600 per month until the end of the year and inflates or creates other social programs. Critics draw attention to the estimated fiscal impact of 41.25 billion reais and the proximity of the elections.

The measures are valid only until the end of the year and the expectation is that the benefits will start to be paid from August.

Milan said supermarkets are carrying out “more planned and structured negotiations” with the food industry to assess the need for some price increases. The executive denied that there is a risk of a broad shortage of products on the shelves, stressing however that individual ruptures are normal for the sector’s operation.

^{(with Reuters)}