Lisbon, Nov. 20, 2025 (Lusa) - Sellers of roasted chestnuts in Lisbon justify the increase in retail prices this year by the rise in the price paid to producers for a kilo of the fruit, which, despite being a small nut, continues to sell well.
The price of roasted chestnuts has risen by 50 cents in several places in the municipality. António Morgado, who sells at one of the Largo do Rato metro entrances, now charges €3.50 for a dozen, up from three, as does Maria Irene in Rossio. Soraia Fernandes and her two colleagues, who put down their sacks of chestnuts and their trolley near the Colombo Shopping Centre between September and March, also raised the price by the same amount this year and now ask €4 for 12 chestnuts. Palmira Ferreira, who has been roasting chestnuts between the Sete Rios bus station and the train station for 21 years, has maintained the price, €3.50, that Marco Ferreira has been charging since last year in São Sebastião, near El Corte Inglés.
As he slashed the shells with a knife and salted the chestnuts, the vendor told Lusa that the increase in the retail price was due to the rise in production costs, such as "salt, the reams [of paper] themselves, the charcoal itself", regardless of whether the chestnuts are bought from intermediaries or producers.
"Everything, unfortunately, everything goes up," he commented.
In the past, when he sold a dozen chestnuts for €2.50 or three, "a lot of people didn't look at the money" and asked for 24 chestnuts, but now that the dozen has gone up to €3.50, customers "already look" at the cost.
António Morgado also said that he buys a kilo for two or three euros more than last year. The figure was close to that quoted by Soraia Fernandes, who gets a kilo for between €6 and €7.50. "It's a lot of money," she commented.
The volume of business has remained the same this year for Maria Irene, who maintains her regular clientele but also sells to many tourists passing through Rossio. The Chinese "love them" and the Italians are among those who buy the most: "That's what we're worth. The Portuguese, poor things...."
Also in Largo do Rato, António didn't notice any difference in turnover and Palmira, in Sete Rios, didn't want to make any comparisons with last year, given the length of time she's been selling there and the loyalty of the buyers.
As for the quality of the fruit, she said, like other colleagues, that the chestnuts were smaller: "they didn't have any water", which didn't stop customers from taking them.
Marco Ferreira said that at the beginning of the season, in October, "it was difficult, because the year was very dry, and there were a lot of very small chestnuts". However, the calibre increased in the same month.
For Soraia Fernandes, the quality is the same as last year and Maria Irene, a vendor since the 1970s, says the chestnuts are good this year. The martaínhas, a variety she picks up in the north, are "smaller chestnuts, with no rot or bugs".
The increase in price and the reduced size of the chestnuts can be explained by the late start to the picking season, the lack of rain and this summer's heatwaves in the districts where the fruit is picked, Bragança and Portalegre, according to producers heard by Lusa.
MZAL/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
