Lisbon, Dec. 18, 2025 (Lusa) - Vasp said on Thursday that it has an increased responsibility as the only national distributor in Portugal, "not because it is a monopoly, but because it is, in fact, the only surviving company in the sector".

"On National Press Day, Vasp S.A. also marks five decades of activity in the distribution of publications in Portugal, emphasising the decisive role that logistics and distribution capillarity play in ensuring that the daily press reaches the whole country by dawn, and highlights the structural relevance of distribution in the sustainability of this ecosystem," the company said in a statement.

It stresses that it has an "increased responsibility associated with its current position as the only national press distributor in Portugal, not because it is a monopoly, but because it is, in fact, the only surviving company in the sector".

This is because "it has filled the void left by the bankruptcy of all other distributors, with serious consequences for press publishers, facts that make operational resilience and dialogue with publishers, retailers, public and private institutions, and also with the government, a permanent priority," argues Vasp.

At the beginning of the month, Vasp's management reported that it was assessing the need to adjust the daily distribution of newspapers in the districts of Beja, Évora, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Viseu, Vila Real and Bragança.

On Wednesday, the government acknowledged "concrete proposals" to address this possible adjustment to Vasp's distribution network in the interior of the country, but stressed that it will not "write a cheque" to a specific company.

At the end of today's cabinet meeting, the minister of cabinet affairs, António Leitão Amaro, when questioned on the matter, pointed out that "what is at stake is an announcement by the practically monopolistic distributor, which told the country that it was having difficulties sustaining its business model and is looking for solutions".

Founded in February 1975, Vasp "has established itself as an essential operator in the press value chain, ensuring that the daily press reaches points of sale and communities, from the coast to the interior, daily," reads the document the company sent out today.

Faced with the challenges facing the media, from profound changes in consumer habits to economic and logistical challenges, Vasp stated today that it "reaffirms its mission of continuity, efficiency and proximity, critical factors in ensuring accessibility, pluralism and territorial cohesion in access to information, a right that is enshrined in the constitution, and for which VASP fights every day, even when it is necessary to rethink its operation and new logistical models that allow for the viability and continuity of this mission."

On National Press Day, "Vasp joins the sectoral reflection held in Pombal and renews its commitment to the continuous modernisation of services, the sustainability of operations and the protection of regular access to the printed press, particularly in less densely populated areas".

The distributor also salutes "all those who are part of the Portuguese press ecosystem, from journalists to points of sale, printers and readers, because they are all part of the constitutional process that says access to the daily press, a process that VASP is proud to transport every day."

Vasp concludes by stating that "distribution is not a logistical detail; it is a democratic infrastructure".

ALU/ADB // ADB.

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