Bin Inn owner Monique Beaumont has noticed a marked increase in the numbers of customers stocking up on their 20kg bags of flour and suspects this may be a form of ‘‘panic buying’’, as opposed to the usual Easter shopping. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY A Dunedin bulk food store which is running out of flour has put it down to panic buying caused by the skyrocketing cost of fuel. Global petrol prices have surged past $US100 ($NZ175) a barrel as conflict in the Middle East disrupts supply routes. In New Zealand petrol prices are already climbing rapidly, with forecasts that they could push towards $4 a litre — or higher. Bin Inn owner Monique Beaumont said she was starting to see ‘‘panic buying’’ of staple items such as flour and sugar. She had observed a ‘‘noticeable uptick’’ in bulk flour sales, specifically their 20kg bags of bakers flour and it had been much more than the usual Easter shopping madness. People who bought flour generally had a specific reason to do so and it was mostly repeat customers, such as those with a large family. ‘‘Whereas now, people that would normally pick up one bag of flour have come in and bought three instead.’’ They were not wholesalers, which made the run on flour even more surprising, Mrs Beaumont said. ‘‘Definitely seeing an uptick — sugar's been flying out ... and beans are going super quickly.’’ It was forcing to her to order more stock than usual and that had begun to come with its own extra costs, she said. It ‘‘ripples right down the supply chain,’’ and some of her suppliers were having to apply a delivery levy to orders. ‘‘They'll add a certain amount to our orders just to cover their costs for the fuel — we try not to increase prices, but I think the longer it goes on, we're probably going to see more of that happening everywhere.’’ laine.priestley@odt.co.nz
