‘I’ve never seen anything like this’: Darwin butcher runs out of meat within hours amid panic buying

DUE to never-before-seen demand, an unprecedented amount of meat is flying off shelves at NT supermarkets and butcher shops faster than it can be replaced

Nightcliff Premium Meats’ Alan Rogers, Kane Rogers and Jackie Rogers. Picture: Supplied

DUE TO never-before-seen demand for food, an unprecedented amount of meat is flying off shelves at NT supermarkets and butcher shops faster than it can be replaced.

Owner of Nightcliff Premium Meats, Alan Rogers, says panic buying has pushed his sales to record levels, to the point where he is selling out of stock within hours of opening his business.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, ever. Not even in cyclones or Christmas,” he said.

“I’ve been in this game for 40 years, never seen anything like it before.

“We’ve got some more meat coming in tomorrow, but I reckon that will be gone by lunchtime.

“We get another load next Tuesday. That’ll be gone in the day for sure.”

As the nation’s suppliers grapple to meet demand, Mr Rogers said his meat vendors in Adelaide were unable to satisfy the current state of the market.

“We can’t get what we want next week, we can only get about three quarters of what we normally would get,” he said.

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“There’s just nothing available, and it’s expensive – it’s gone through the roof.”

“Things have gone up about $3 or $4 a kilo for us to buy.”

Mr Rogers said the supply shortages were due to people buying amounts far in excess of what they requires, with some Darwinites forking out up to $400 for an over-the-counter order at his business.

“We had a bloke come in here, and he was just buying whole trays of meat. There’s no way you could eat it all, even if you ate it all day, unless you had 20 people in the family,” he said.

“It’s a lot of meat. And it’s from people we don’t see, that normally don’t shop here.”

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In light of the forecast economic downturn, a silver lining amid the hysteria is how the increase in sales has aided Mr Rogers’ business after what was a slow 12 months up to this point.

“When all this rubbish is over and done with, they might not need it for another month,” he said.

“But it’s been very quiet. It was a concern for us beforehand, very much so.”