Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera and commerce councillor, and Alejandra Ferrer, vice president and head of the Data Observatory, sat down with Pep Mayans, president of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses of Formentera (Pimef), Lidia Alvárez, Pimef manager, and Joan Mayans, of the food sector, to review data from a study run by the Formentera Data Observatory on the cost of basic groceries on the island.

According to this study, in October 2022 basic products on Formentera cost 18% more on than Eivissa and 22% more than on the mainland. Further, between January and October 2022, the local cost of these products rose 21%. In this sense, the heads of local government expressed their concern to the business representatives about the cost overrun borne by Formentera residents.

Apart from the cost of groceries, meeting participants discussed other issues like the rising cost of housing, restaurants and raw materials. The Consell has pledged to continue studying the real cost of living on Formentera and, together with businesses, to take forward and request compensatory measures to alleviate a situation which is twice compounded by insularity.

21 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

Today Ana Juan, president and commerce councillor of the Consell de Formentera; the chief of the General Directorate of Commerce (DGC) of the Balearic Islands, and representatives of eight local stores, presented Bons Illes Balears.

President Juan highlighted "the involvement of local businesses to participate in this programme that seeks to be a boost for the island's commercial sector, mainly for smaller businesses, and for local customers". She added, "Formentera's stores are essential to our economy and our society, and these initiatives will serve before the start of the tourist season".

The DGC chief said that the campaign would mean half a million euros in vouchers in the Balearics. A total of 830 businesses from Mallorca, 115 from Menorca, 54 from Eivissa and 8 from Formentera have applied for membership.

The programme, now in its third year, operates like previous campaigns. Balearic residents over 16 years old will receive up to four €15 vouchers that can be used at participating establishments for purchases over €30 and per-person totals of up to €60. Vouchers can be used together in a single purchase, in a single store, or they can be used separately in different stores. Moreover, they must be used in store and may not be used for online purchases. Vouchers will be redeemable from 21 March to 15 April. For more information, visit wwwbonsillesbalears.com.

The eight Formentera businesses offering the vouchers are Coral Vermell, Estils Moda, Instalaciones Jodar, Modas Ferrer, Nomads, Nuëet, Te doy la luna, Tuyyo Formentera.

17 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

Today Formentera's Local Security Board convened for a meeting that was chaired by Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, and Enrique Sánchez Navarrete, island director of the State. Josep Marí, Formentera's interior councillor; Alejandra Ferrer, vice-president and representative of Gent per Formentera; Rafael Ramírez, social welfare councillor and representative of the PSOE, and Lorenzo Córdoba, representative of Sa Unió, also attended. Among the members of law enforcement in attendance were Félix Ramos, chief of Formentera Local Police; Manuel Hernández, chief commissioner of the National Police of Eivissa; Juan Carlos González, commander of the Civil Guard; a representative of the Emergency and Interior Headquarters of the Balearic Government, and other authorities.

"As every spring, we ask that the presence of the security forces on the island be reinforced", said President Juan, "and we ask for a continuation of the smooth coordination with Formentera Local Police and other emergency corps that we have witnessed in recent seasons". President Juan also underscored "the need for rangers in Formentera's natural areas, as well as Maritime Civil Guard officers". She additionally called for more agents of the Balearic Islands Institute of Nature (Ibanat) on the island "to be able to deal with forest fires".

Meeting participants also discussed coordinated actions in response to boats arriving on the island with migrants, the support to be given to them and efforts to subsequently remove the boats from the coast, as highlighted by the councilor Josep Marí. Attendees also called for a greater wintertime presence of security forces in public squares and areas.

16 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

These findings were revealed by a 2022 study comparing the prices of ten basic products conducted by the Formentera Data Observatory. In addition, from January to October, the cost of these groceries increased 21%

The Formentera Data Observatory of the Consell de Formentera conducted a study on the local cost of groceries compared to Eivissa and mainland Spain. Prices were also compared between January and October 2022 –before and after the start of the war in Ukraine– to see how inflation has affected commodities.

The prices of ten basic private label products were compared for the study: one kilo of rice, one loaf of bread, one dozen eggs, one head of lettuce, one five-litre jug of water, one litre of whole milk, one litre of sunflower oil, one litre of olive oil, one kilo of potatoes and one kilo of chicken.

To run the comparison, the engineers of the study looked at two large supermarkets on Eivissa, two on the mainland, and the two Formentera supermarkets with the lowest prices. In January 2022 it cost 13% more to buy groceries on Formentera than on Eivissa and 12% more than on the mainland. In October 2022, shopping on Formentera was 18% more expensive than on Eivissa and 22% more expensive than on the mainland.

Month-to-month comparison
During this first year of data collection, the comparison was performed in a total of five Formentera stores. Among them, variations of up to 60% were detected between the highest and lowest prices.

Moreover, comparing the average cost of these basic purchases in the five stores in January 2022 with October 2022, the local cost of groceries increased by 21%. During this same period, prices increased by 17% on Eivissa and by 11% on mainland Spain.

"These data highlight the sharp premium that Formentera residents face when making basic purchases, and that this has increased in the last year", explained Alejandra Ferrer, vice president and head of the Formentera Data Observatory. Vice President Ferrer voiced concern about "the great expense that Formentera residents face when buying basic items on the island" and asserted, "We will continue with these studies and implement new ones, improving our working methodology to discover the real cost of living on Formentera and introduce or request measures to offset our insularity".

Furthermore, the Consell de Formentera has requested a meeting with the Small and Medium-Sized Business Group (Pimef) to explain the data obtained and discuss this issue.

This year, small businesses on Eivissa and in mainland Spain have been included in the study to make it possible to compare all types of establishments in the three locations. Sampling will also be conducted more frequently to obtain more specific data.

Complete data from the study can be found in the "Visió del Resident" section of the Formentera Data Observatory website. https://www.observatorideformentera.cat/visions/visio-del-resident/cistella-de-la-compra/

16 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera