Bunbury supermarkets are straining for supplies as COVID hoarders return

Bunbury supermarkets have become the latest victim of shopping hoarders as lockdown threats loom ahead of the border opening. Bunbury Parkcentre Coles, Eaton Coles and Dalyellup Woolworths had all been hit by shopper hoarding, with countless empty shelves notably missing stocks of flour, rice, tinned vegetables, toilet paper and paper towels, medication and meat. Woolworths across the State have introduced two-packet restrictions on toilet paper, painkillers, and meats, including sausages, mince, and poultry. The announcement followed rival Coles’ move to cap toilet paper and selected medications last Wednesday, after consumers drove up demand for the essentials and shelves began to empty. Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith urged people to stop panic buying and “shop sensibly”. “People should be able to go shopping for goods to meet their needs. WA is not in a position where people need to panic buy, we need to shop sensibly,” Dr Duncan-Smith said. Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci has asked shoppers to remain patient as supermarkets make the transition into “living with COVID in 2022”. “We understand how frustrating it is when you can’t find the product you’re looking for and, together with our suppliers and supply chain partners, we’re working hard to get all products back on shelf as quickly as we can,” he said. “We also have good supply within each ‘category’ of product (even if your favourite isn’t available, a good alternative hopefully should be), so it really helps if you can be flexible with the choices you make.” Coles chief executive Steven Cain announced on Thursday the supermarket giant was each week “delivering millions” of rapid antigen tests to stores, but admitted it was not enough to satisfy demand. Both Coles and Woolies have introduced a one-pack limit for RATs. Woolworths has had a one-pack purchase limits on RATs since it first began selling them last year after there was high demand amid outbreaks in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.