In MAY, sales at SUPERMARKETS GROW 4.71%

The supermarket sector registered a real increase of 4.71% in sales in the month of May compared with the same month of the previous year, according to the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Open). The result already takes into account inflation, measured by the national consumer price index (IPCA). In the first five months of the year, actual sales have grown 1.92% compared to same period in 2017, according to the Open. Already comparing the performance of may with the previous month, April, is a high of 3.46%. In nominal terms, without discounting inflation, sales growth in May is 7.69% compared with the same month of 2017. In five months, nominal growth of 5.23%. According to the President of the OPEN, João Sanzovo Neto, the cumulative result of supermarkets in May shows a stability of the sector. "We had a slight growth of 0.17 percentage point relative to the accumulated until April, I expected due to the economic scenario of the country prior to the stoppage of the truckers," said. The may sales, according to the President of the OPEN, were not affected by the stoppage, which focused more on the end of the month, and, as supermarkets work with stocks around 10 to 15 days, some networks have maintained normal supply, and the reflections of outage focused more in June. Sanzovo points out that even with the start of the stoppage in late may, some products that have smaller stocks, like the groceries showed high prices. "That is the case of onion and potato, as shown in our Abramercado indicator", he adds.