Fears of food supply hiccups amidst panic buying in Goa

NT NETWORK

Panaji

It looks like consumers in the state are due for another bout of lockdown-induced shortage with owners of provision stores on Thursday saying that they have less stock and will find it difficult to refill goods over the next three days.

Kirit Maganlal, owner of Magsons chain of stores, said that he expects supply chain disruption in the transportation of groceries, fruits and vegetables to the state.

He said the supply chain disturbance is because of the lockdown in the neighbouring states.

“In Karnataka, the lockdown is complete while in Maharashtra there is a selective lockdown. It means that production units in the two states are closed. Local retailers will face a lot of issues in inventory as good supply will not be coming in,” Maganlal said.    

Other provision and department store owners said that stocks of goods are low due to panic buying by residents.  City-dwellers rushed to the municipal market, super markets and wholesale shops to buy groceries in large quantities to tide over a possible food scarcity that may befall if the lockdown is extended.

The municipal market witnessed the mad rush of the people, who threw social distancing norm to the wind to buy the essentials. 

Fearing that the three-day lockdown may continue further like the previous shutdowns, people came out with big bags and did sufficient shopping that could last for a month.

By around 6 pm, the groceries were sold out, forcing many shopkeepers to pull the shutters.

“These politicians will never speak the truth. Only Almighty Creator knows how many days this lockdown will remain in force. We cannot rely on them, hence there is panic buying,” remarked a woman who did a lot of purchases.

A shopkeeper said, “We need more of lockdowns. Thanks to coronavirus, we can do business for a day or two and enjoy at home for a month.”