Woolworths and Coles have imposed buying limits in Victoria

As Victoria begins its seven day lockdown triggered by a Covid-19 outbreak the nation’s biggest supermarkets, Woolworths and Coles, have imposed a two-pack buying limit on toilet paper

Toilet paper isles in Geelong Supermarkets. Picture: Mike Dugdale

The nation’s supermarkets have returned to the coordination of supply to prevent panic buying introduced during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic last year by reintroducing buying limits for toilet paper in Victoria as the state begins its seven day lockdown.

Woolworths quickly followed Coles on Friday morning to impose buying limits on toilet paper as Victoria starts its first day of the state-wide lockdown.

It comes as in the last week volumes of toilet paper shipped to Woolworths stores in Victoria from its central warehouse has rocketed 300 per cent.

Woolworths said on Friday that it is imposing a limit of two packs of toilet paper per person.

“We’re reinstating limits on toilet paper in Victoria to help ensure more customers have fair access to the product. We’ll continue to closely monitor demand and our team is working hard to restock shelves for our customers. We thank customers for their patience as we do this,” a spokesman for Woolworths said.

Coles has introduced a buying limit of two pack of toilet paper per shopper. It said on Friday that to ensure more customers have access to toilet paper, it has introduced a temporary limit throughout Victoria.

“We have plenty of stock in our supply chain, and this temporary measure will help us to manage demand so that we can return our stores to a fully-stocked position as quickly as possible,” a Coles spokeswoman said.

All Coles supermarkets, liquor and Coles Express sites will continue to trade during the lockdown in Victoria with enhanced cleaning and safety measures in place.

“We ask that customers stay calm, shop normally and be respectful to our hard-working team members.”

Under the restrictions, freight and logistics workers and freight services can continue to operate normally throughout Victoria.

When the Covid-19 pandemic first emerged in 2020 it triggered a wave of panic buying across the country and occasionally fights in the aisles as consumers wrestled for available food and groceries. Shoppers stripped the shelves of toilet paper and staple foods such as rice, flour, pasta, meat, tinned food and long life milk which later forced the government and supermarkets to act to protect the supply chain that was unprepared for the pandemic and massive uplift in consumer demand.

In late March 2020 as the panic buying threatened the sustainability of the national food and grocery supply chain, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced that supermarket operators would be able to co-ordinate immediately to ensure consumers have reliable and fair access to groceries during the pandemic following the ACCC’s granting of interim authorisation.

The interim authorisation allowed supermarkets to co-ordinate with each other when working with manufacturers, suppliers, and transport and logistics providers. The purpose was to ensure the supply and the fair and equitable distribution of fresh food, groceries, and other household items to Australian consumers, including those who are vulnerable or live in rural and remote areas.

The authorisation allowed a range of co-ordinated activities but does not allow supermarkets to agree on retail prices for products.

This also led to the creation of the Supermarkets Taskforce, convened by the Department of Home Affairs, which met regularly to resolve issues impacting supermarkets. Representatives from government departments, supermarkets, the grocery supply chain and the ACCC are on the taskforce.

Between March and May 2020 the taskforce met almost 50 times and was crucial in co-ordinating industry reactions and acting collaboratively to meet the demands of panic buying experienced in the early weeks of the pandemic.

The taskforce through 2020 and in sudden lockdowns into 2021 discussed and co-ordinated buying limits as purchasing limits were placed on staple groceries including toilet paper that allowed time for the supply chain to catch up and resupply supermarkets.