By James Davey
LONDON (Reuters) – Panic buying by British shoppers over coronavirus is getting worse despite appeals for calm and supermarket bosses are concerned the government is yet to get to grips with the magnitude of the crisis, industry sources told Reuters.
On Sunday, the food industry appealed to shoppers to stop panic buying, placing adverts in national newspapers. But it hasn’t worked.
On Tuesday shelves were stripped bare of items such as eggs and chicken, while freezer chests were emptied.
“It’s getting worse,” said a source at one of Britain’s major supermarket groups.
Britain’s big grocers, including market leader, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons, along with discounters Aldi and Lidl, have struggled for over a week to keep shelves stocked as Britons stock piled cupboard items such as dried pasta, flour, canned food, toilet rolls and hand sanitizer.
Store trading levels have been close to those only seen at Christmas, the busiest time of the year, while online grocery operations have also been running at capacity.
On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson shut down social life in Britain and advised the most vulnerable to isolate for 12 weeks, prompting another step-up in grocery trade on Tuesday.
“The level of panic buying is definitely not getting any better,” said a second source at another major UK supermarket group.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton and Guy Faulconbridge)
