Sales of supermarkets rising 3.37% in June compared to 2017

Sales of supermarkets in Brazil in June grew by 3.37% in real terms compared with the same period in 2017, but retreated 0.7 percent over may, reported on Tuesday (31) the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Open). The drop in sales compared with the previous month, according to the Association, it was expected and reflects the problems caused by the strike of truck drivers at the end of May. "Some people stocked up products at the end of may with the concern that the deadlock stretches any longer," said the Superintendent of the Open, Tojo Mathew, citing still shortages of some items in June. In the first half, sales growth of 2% over the same interval last year, according to the survey. Despite the accumulated positive performance, open revised the projection of sales of supermarkets of Brazil in 2018 for high of 2.53%, below the previous forecast of an increase of 3% in January this year, according to the economic scenario. Still, the expectation for this year is better than the growth of 1.25% in 2017.