Since the beginning of March, regional soft drink manufacturers have faced a lack of supply of CO2 (carbon dioxide) for the production of the drink. Several small industries interrupted or reduced the pace of production due to the scarcity of the input that is irreplaceable and responsible for the bubbles in the soda.
According to the president of the Brazilian Soft Drink Manufacturers Association (Afrebras), Fernando Rodrigues de Bairros, the problem began when White Martins interrupted the delivery of CO2 to small companies.
“They simply sent a statement saying that, for reasons of force majeure, they released the purchase of the exclusivity contract. How is it possible to find another CO2 supplier on the market overnight?” he asks. The executive says that the Brazilian multinational is the largest producer of CO2 for the sector. Without CO2, it is not possible to make soda and the drink becomes a syrup.
“This is the first time that we have a CO2 crisis”, says Dayane Titon, director of Bebidas Grassi, in Tubarão (SC). In the market for 25 years, the company produces soda branded Capricho, sold in the State, and the energy drink Baly, sold nationally.
Since the supply of the input was interrupted, the factory has been operating at half its production capacity. The company saw its sales drop by 50%. Without raw material, the company gave vacations to 40% of the employees in the last two months.
The director says that she went to the market to buy CO2 from regional suppliers and encountered several obstacles. In addition to the small ones not having the capacity to meet the demand for the input in the necessary volume, the price of CO2 has exploded. For the kilo of CO2, which she paid R$ 1.50, she paid up to R$ 30. The executive says that she cannot pass on the high cost of the input to the price of the products. “I am taking a loss.”
Investigation
In Afrebras’ accounts, between 15 and 20 associates who have an exclusive CO2 supply contract with White Martins face problems. When the complaints began, Neighborhoods says that the entity made an investigation and found that White Martins kept supplying the input to the large soft drink manufacturers to the detriment of small ones.
The investigation is part of the request to open an investigation against White Martins to investigate crimes against the economic order, filed by deputy Enio Verri (PT-PR) in the middle of this month, at the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade). Small soft drink manufacturers accuse the multinational of selecting customers for the delivery of raw materials.
“In Brazil, the beverage market is concentrated in all directions: from the beginning of the production chain to the end”, says Bairros. According to him, there are three CO2 suppliers (White Martins, Air Liquide and Messer Gases), three glass packaging manufacturers, two resin manufacturers and 99% of citric acid production is in the hands of two industries. The 100 industries associated with Afrebras account for 10% of the production or one billion liters of soft drinks.
Providers
White Martins informs, through a note, that its customers are being supplied with CO2 throughout Brazil, with restrictions in some specific locations. “Faced with the lack of raw material for CO2 production, generated by the maintenance stoppage of the company that supplies raw CO2 to the White Martins production plant, located in Cubatão (SP), the company continues to work hard to maintain the supply to all its customers, regardless of size”, says the statement.
According to the company, the situation will return to normal as soon as it receives the raw material from this source. This is expected to happen in the next few days. It also adds that its customers were warned in advance that there could be temporary restrictions on CO2 supply due to the lack of raw material.
The statement also emphasizes that “it is making every effort to maintain supply to its customers, regardless of their size, bringing the product from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and the United States, in addition to transferring CO2 from other company plants in Bahia and in Minas Gerais”.
Sought, Air Liquide informs, through its advisory, that it is not affected by the lack of input. It adds that “it maintains supply to its customers, as it has production units in different locations, which allows it to guarantee its deliveries with safety and reliability”.
Messer Gases, another CO2 supplier, informs, through its advisory, that it does not comment on the matter.
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