With the objective of helping national production in the transportation of products, between January and March, Continente bought more than €71.3 million of national products, the company announced, referring that it acquired another €5 million in agrifood goods during the first quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year.
In the fruit and vegetable segment, one of the most in demand during the new coronavirus pandemic, national purchases represented a growth of more than €4 million compared to 2019, exceeding €28 million.
Since the arrival of the new coronavirus in Portugal, Continente has proactively contacted meat producers and industry associations to dispose of excess production and purchased more than 1,500 tonnes of national meat in the first three months of this year than in 2019.
In beef, specifically, the brand tripled the amount purchased from domestic producers and, of the total chicken available in stores, 92 percent is of national origin.
Fish, on the other hand, is purchased daily in 14 Portuguese auctions and, in 2020, these purchases have already reached a volume of more than 550 tonnes.
According to the company, purchases of species such as sea bass, sea bream, turbot and trout from national aquaculture projects increased by more than 50 percent.
In two weeks, the brand has also integrated 40 new members into the Clube de Produtores Continente (CPC), a support structure for Portuguese agricultural production.
The CPC also created a programme of prepayments for small producers to help them with their cash flow.
“We need to support, in a sustained way, those who feel more closely the effects of a crisis of dimensions yet to be defined. All of this, naturally safeguarding the strict quality and food safety procedures of the products we sell ”, stated the president of the Clube de Produtores Continente, Ondina Afonso.
Sales of Portuguese products in Continente stores have been increasing steadily, the statement said, with more than 160,000 tonnes of agrifood goods being acquired in the last year, including exclusive products of certified origin such as oranges from the Algarve, apples from Alcobaça and Beira Alta or the Rocha pear rock of the West.