What did retailers buy in Portugal?

To mark National Production Day, which was celebrated last Friday, April 26th, some of the food retailers operating in the country announced purchases made in the national territory last year from Portuguese suppliers and producers, aiming to support the Portuguese primary sector and cultivation in Portugal.

Mercadona
Mercadona announced that it had increased the volume of purchases from national suppliers, also reinforcing its focus on the Portuguese primary sector.

In 2023, purchases from national producers increased by 49% compared to 2022, having purchased around 1,178 million euros from 1,000 commercial and service suppliers, “a value that will increase in 2024 with the opening of 11 more supermarkets in Portugal”, he says Mercadona in a statement.

“Mercadona’s purchases from Portuguese commercial and service suppliers have been increasing progressively since 2019”, the year in which the Spanish retailer opened its first stores in Portugal. Since then, it has gone from an investment of 217 million euros to the current 1,178 million euros, he explains in a statement.

According to the press release, the retailer purchased from national producers a total of 800 thousand liters of olive oil, 1,800 tons of carrots, 1,900 tons of rock pears, 35,000 tons of tomatoes, 12,000 tons of apples, 895 tons of lettuce, 5,000 tons of kiwi, 15 million liters of milk and 2,800 tons of fish from the auction.

McDonalds
McDonald’s acquired, in 2023, more than 16 thousand tons of national ingredients and food products in Portugal.

According to the press release, currently, around 40% of total purchases (in value) regarding raw materials are made from Portuguese partners, with around 30 national suppliers supplying the 200 McDonald’s restaurants in Portugal.

Combining suppliers of goods and services with those of raw materials, the brand currently works with 787 Portuguese companies, which represents around 73% in volume and 57% in value of the total purchases made by the brand in the country.

Continent
In 2023, and so far, Continente announced that it had purchased more than 14 thousand tons of oranges from the Algarve through the Continente Producers Club (CPC), which aims to support national producers and guarantee certified Portuguese products, increasingly sustainable.

With PGI certification – Protected Geographical Indication – all oranges available in the retailer’s stores “are Algarve oranges harvested by hand at their optimum point of consumption, which allows for more flavor and greater nutritional richness”, says the press release .

The Continente Producers Club has a total of 340 producers and more than 570 million euros in purchases from national production, which are reflected in more than 240 tons of products, according to the communication.