Spain bans ‘sale at loss’
Spain has brought in a new minimum food pricing law, which prohibits retailers from selling food for less than the cost of production.
According to the legislation, regulators will now be able to issue fines to retailers who partake in ‘sale at loss’. Fines will range from €3,000 to €100,000, however repeat offenders could me fined up to €1m.
The law falls under the Ley de la Cadena Alimentaria, or Food Chain Law, and governs business relationships between operators in the food chain.
Retailers will be exempt from sanctions if their ‘sale at loss’ concerns discounts of perishable products that are damaged, as well as promotions applied by distribution chains that assume the associated costs themselves.
While the agri-food sector has welcomed the law, describing it as a ‘historic conquest’, consumer organisations in Spain have expressed concerns the policy could result in higher food prices.
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