The Chamber of Commerce and distributors in Mallorca are warning of an "extreme situation" as a consequence of the hauliers' strike on the mainland.
Antoni Mercant, president of the Chamber of Commerce, points to there being "serious problems" with regard to supplies of non-perishable products and raw materials. "The authorities must act because the situation is worsening from one day to the next."
The president of the ADED distributors association, Bartomeu Servera, says that "if the situation is not tackled within eight days, there will start to be serious problems". At present, he adds, there are no problems.
ADED is due to meet the regional minister of transport, Josep Marí, in order to assess the impact of the strike on the distribution of perishable and non-perishable products. Marí last week met freight carriers in the Balearics in a first step to avoid the strike that has been called from this coming Monday, the 28th.
The shipping companies are operating all their services, but pickets at industrial estates in major cities on the mainland as well as at ports are hampering the loading of products for ships coming to the Balearics. The holds of ships are "less and less full".
The Mallorca Hoteliers Federation hopes that, in the coming days, authorities will react in order to reduce the prices of supplies as much as possible due to the increase in energy costs. María José Aguiló, the federation's vice-president, estimates that the cost of food products has risen by between 30% and 50%.
The associations for large retailers and supermarkets, ANGED and ASEDAS, insist that the Spanish government must guarantee the supply chain for the Balearics and agree with the Chamber of Commerce and other employers' groups that measures need to be adopted to prevent the picketing of mainland industrial estates and ports.