Anyone else noticed lately the supermarkets are all looking a bit bare? Both in terms of discount prices and just stock in general. Is this a sign to come of stock shortages like over in the U.K etc or are we doing ok in NZ? Obviously deals are going to be harder to come by with the way things are which was to be be expected.
Supermarket stock shortages for anyone else?
nilllskill on 16/01/2022 - 21:57
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A lot of meat, potato chips and other fridge items were really low all weekend at pak n save and countdowns in Wellington, Lyall Bay area. Just wonder if something is going on with it, countdown had a sorry sign about meat deliveries.
Yeah shelves aren’t looking great. Supermarkets, Kmarts etc.
there is a shortage of truck drivers in the country. Plenty of stock in warehouses just not enough transport to get the goods to the rest of the country. Dad and Grandfather have come out of retirement to help out, that’s how bad it’s getting.bread is often low. Australian supermarkets have 15% of products unavailable according to a report I was readind due to labour issues
Some items are clearly being affected by worldwide issues. Pet food is one example. There has also been some evidence of a new round of panic buying. Media reports of "Omicron coming" and just the general vicious circle. People notice something is out or low on stock and buy heaps "just in case" Flour and toilet paper were great examples previously. There was actually plenty of stock but because people saw it was getting low on shelves they stocked up. If there was none then they made sure to buy triple their usual amount when it did come into stock.
Cat food for sure - both packaged (wet /dry) and fresh cat meat! Also canola oil? And nice ice creams like Kapiti and Killinchy Gold? Both new world and pak n save are always out of these in Porirua!
Yeah, the supermarkets are saying they have not raised prices. But they have significant reduced the % discount, as someone who buys mostly when groceries are on specials, I feel prices have gone up A LOT.
And yes, canola oil (or sunflower oil, etc) are something that caught me off guard. They used to be $2.50 a litre, now they are about $4 a litre (almost same price as some olive oil!), I'm down to 2x 2litre bottles that I stocked up earlier when they were $4.99 each.
We obviously don't have large numbers of people isolating with omicron, which has been causing issues in much of the world (Aussie most reported).
However some people looking at the rest of the world, and seeing their issues have been quietly stocking up, Expecting NZ to have the same issues as Aussie in 4 - 6 weeks. Add on top of that some light panic buying in the wake of yesterdays MIQ worker with Omicron and lots of close contacts. Notice many of the items low in availability are the things that get stripped from the shelves at the start of every lock down. Toilet paper, paper towels, Flour, Yeast, Masks, sanitizing wipes etc. And to a lesser extent things that store or freeze well. Meat, frozen veggies, dried pasta, rice.
On top of the above we have the Long standing issues with international supply chains. (impacting items like cooking oil).
Any items in particular?