Press release 27/05/2020

LARGE STORES AND FOOD CHAINS TRADE INDEX OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY. APRIL 2020

Sales in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country fell by 5.3% in April 2020

Sales of food products were up by 21.2%, while sales of other products fell by 64.4%

Sales at large stores and food chains in the Basque Country in April 2020 experienced a year-on-year downturn at constant prices of 5.3% in homogenous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. Compared to March 2020, sales were down 2.4% in deseasonalised terms.

The exceptional measures of confinement and partial or total closure adopted to confront the COVID-19 global pandemic during the whole of April 2020, have brought about a highly disparate result in food sales (essential and critical activity) and in sales of other articles (extremely restricted activity). Thus, while sales of food products at large stores and food chains reflected a year-on-year rise of 21.2%, sales corresponding to other items experienced a downturn of 64.4%, with respect to the same month of the previous year, once corrected for calendar effects.

By province, there was a decrease in all three: 2.5% in Álava, 8.0% in Bizkaia and 2.1% in Gipuzkoa compared to the same month of the previous year, all at constant prices and corrected for calendar effects.

Compared to the previous month, March 2020, food sales; at constant prices and in deseasonalised terms; increased by 8.8%, while sales of other products were down 42.2%.

In the accumulated total for January to April 2020, the Sales index in large stores and food chains was down 0.8%, due to the 24.0% decrease in sales of other products, given that food sales registered an increase of 10.9%. The provinces of Álava and Bizkaia posted decreases in the year-to-date of 0.1% and 2.5% respectively, whereas the year-to-date trend was positive in the case of Gipuzkoa with an increase of 1.9%, all at constant prices and in homogeneous terms of the working calendar.

The number of individuals employed in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country increased by 1.2% compared to the same month of the previous year and was down 0.2% in respect of the previous month, in deseasonalised terms. In the accumulated total for these four months of 2020 the number of people employed was up 1.6% on the same period of 2019.

Included as persons employed considered in this and other short-term economic indexes, are those covered by an ERTE (Temporary Labour Force Adjustment Plan), following the definition of persons employed indicated by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) in its manual Methodology of Short Term Business Statistics.

NOTE ON THE EFFECT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS ON THE APRIL LARGE STORES AND FOOD CHAINS TRADE INDEX

Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14 March, declared a state of alarm in order to manage the health crisis caused by COVID-19.

The exceptional measures adopted subsequently have brought the usual activity of the majority of establishments to a partial or total standstill during the whole of April.

Due to this situation, obtaining the necessary information for compiling the Large Stores and Food Chains Trade Index has also required a greater degree of effort, by both the companies surveyed and the personnel dedicated to collecting and processing the information.

Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated in making this effort despite the extraordinary circumstances. As a result, the April index was calculated with 76.19% coverage of the sample - whose information was collected during May.

The models used in the correction of calendar effects and deseasonalisation of the series include the effect of COVID-19 on the variables studied, following the recommendations of the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) (Eurostat) in its methodological note Guidance on Time Series Treatment in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62