The emergency cookbook of a federal agency for disasters advises stocks for 10 days. In the corona crisis, consumers obviously take this advice seriously - although no place in this country has yet been isolated.
Berlin (dpa) - The spread of the corona virus in Germany drives consumers to buy hamsters. Groceries are experiencing increased demand for durable foods and beverages. Shelves with cleaning cloths or disinfectants are also cleared.
According to the retail trade, there are no bottlenecks. The delivery structures are efficient and well prepared, and the supply of the population is guaranteed, the spokesman for the German trade association, Kai Falk, told the German Press Agency on Saturday.
So far, there have been no restrictions on the availability of goods in retail, Falk said. It remains to be seen how the further spread of the virus will affect consumer confidence and buying behavior. The companies are in contact with the authorities in order to be able to react appropriately to further developments and recommendations to protect customers and employees.
"We are able to deliver," said Günter Päts, Vice-Managing Director of the Berlin-Brandenburg Trade Association, on Saturday at the German Press Agency. In the supermarkets in Berlin and Brandenburg, however, sales increased by 30 to 40 percent this week. "The trade is happy," said Päts.
Above all, soaps and disinfectants were sold more, said Päts. Durable food is particularly in demand in supermarkets. According to Päts, one product in particular is making a comeback thanks to Corona: The canned bread. "For years, bread was less or not in demand," he said.
A spokesman for the Bavarian Trade Association reported in Munich on Saturday that suppliers had already increased their stocks. "We are prepared for increased demand." So far, there has been no increase in hamster purchases due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, it said. In individual cases, however, he cannot rule this out.
A look at several grocery stores in the state capital of Munich confirms this. While in two shops all the shelves are full and the shop assistant speaks of normal demand, in another supermarket several shelves are empty. It never looks like this otherwise, an employee said on Saturday of the dpa. Numerous canned goods such as pasta and fruit have been in increasing demand since Monday. Because the suppliers could not deliver more than the usual amount, some shelves were currently empty. There were notes on a shelf to draw customers' attention to the delivery bottlenecks.