West Australian Supermarkets Announce Buying Limits As Shelves Run Bare

A sign on an empty shelf at a Coles in Yokine, Perth, Australia on Feb. 2, 2022. The Epoch Times

Panic buying has forced supermarkets in Western Australia (WA) to reintroduce buying limits, with the state bracing for shortages for a selection of products amid an ongoing supply chain crisis.

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have placed limits on goods normally imported from Australia’s eastern states, including toilet paper, painkillers, rice, pasta, and frozen vegetables.

West Australians who happen to be planning a cake baking bonanza should also be wary of limits on sugar, flour, and eggs.

Additionally, food distributors, responsible for servicing venues ranging from restaurants to hospitals, should expect to take a hit on certain goods.

However, meat and fresh produce are expected to be largely unaffected as WA sources most of its supply from within the state.

Empty shelves at a Coles in Yokine, Perth, Australia on Feb. 2, 2022. The Epoch Times

Signs displayed at shelves in Coles read: “Due to COVID and rail disruptions in the supply chain, we are experiencing temporary reduced product availability. We are working hard to restock stores as quickly and safely as possible.”

Empty spaces on supermarket shelves had begun to pop up more frequently since January as WA, along with the rest of Australia, experienced delays amid a global supply chain crisis triggered by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Cam Dumesny, CEO of WA’s road transport peak body Western Roads, explained that these pandemic-driven disruptions—along with a series of other factors—had coalesced into a complex series of shortages throughout the supply chain.

“The first thing we felt was a disruption to our shipping and a major loss in international air freight, both inbound and outbound because we didn’t have people flying in and out of the country,” Dumesny told The Epoch Times.

“Then we had the outbreak on the east coast with the high virus numbers, so they were having workforce shortages of around 30 and 40 percent on a daily basis. And then the truckies were caught up in the mix.”

At the end of January, the crisis was exacerbated after a one-in-a-200 year flooding event severed an arterial rail line carrying food from South Australia—an event that created 18 separate breaks along the tracks and cut major roadways.

Flood waters are seen where the Sturt Highway has been cut off near Glendambo, South Australia on Feb. 3, 2022. AAP Image/Pool, Kelly Barnes

Dumesny said WA relied heavily on supply coming from the east coast, with the rail disruptions taking out a whopping 80 percent of land-based freight.

The rail line is estimated to be fixed in mid-February, with the WA transport minister announcing the state would in the meantime be implementing “land bridges”—a system of rail, road, and rail transport where trucks ferry goods between functioning parts of the rail line.

The WA government has also lifted the restriction on road trains to allow trucks to pull three trailers rather than just two, essentially increasing load by an additional 50 percent.

However, one truck driver by the name of Eddie claimed that the state government’s border restrictions had left numerous truck drivers unable to perform interstate deliveries.

“We can’t send our trucks interstate to pick up containers and bring them back here, because once we cross back into WA we have to quarantine for 14 days,” Eddie told 6PR.

“The majority of the West Australian distribution fleet is currently stuck down without pay,” he added. “The state government’s missing an action.”

“I’ve been in this game 30 years now, never seen it like this.”