Supply chain issues

[springyzone]

We all saw the media frenzy a couple of years back when the pandemic hit and when toilet paper and other products became hard to get. We saw the long queues in stores, the 7am opening queues, you name it.

Every now and again when another lock down hit, we would see or read of another rush.

Now, I am not a great one for watching TV, although I do see bits and pieces of news, but I haven't seen much at all lately about shortages. I have seen zero panic buying queues. I've seen zero rushes on supplies even when they are available.

But that's the thing. Some items have not been available for quite a while now in my area. I live in Endeavour Hills, Vic. Not giving anything away there as there are 25,000 people here and the local shopping centre has 3 supermarkets-Coles, Aldi's Woolies.

Aldi has not had toilet paper in a month. Coles may or may not have a few rolls, ditto woolies.

Some days there will be none at all, sometimes maybe a couple of dozen or so scattered packs. But no one rushes them or anything.

My guess is most people have a spare pack at home now anyway.

But I haven't seen much on the media about this at all. I am wonmdering if the government asked them to keep it low so as not to stir up panic or panic buying, which I admit is annoying when it happens.

Is this only our area? Or have any others here seen very low (or no) supplies happening again?

I guess it might be happening in other products too but TP is the most noticeable.

I heard also that TP isn't usually made here. Huge rolls are imported from China to Australian manufacters, who then roll it into the individual rolls and package it and it is labelled as made in Australia. Don't know to what extent that is true but it came from a worker at a TP company.

[domino-710]

No probs here with TP.

Bought 48 rolls - bamboo - large rolls - much better for the environment also.

Edited to say - not one iota of plastic.

[imastawka]

Haha.  I read when the pandemic started here in Australia, Chris Hemsworth's missus 

Elsa Pataky bought that brand online.

She was astounded when a large truck pulled up at their house and they started unloading it.

She thought she had ordered 15 rolls, but had in fact ordered 15 boxes

Chris Hemsworth's Wife Accidentally Ordered Too Much Toilet Paper | PEOPLE.com

[springyzone]

My daughter has been buying it for a couple of years.

A friend of mine also used to buy it as some of the proceeds go to charity or so I believe, but then she noticed it is not made in Australia. So she looked for something similar and rang around but it seems none of the brands are actually made in Australia, only rolled in Australia.

[springyzone]

I have to give this pandemic credit for one thing though. I used to take products such as toilet paper for granted. Who ever imagined the day would come when we would wander through a supermarket and look in grateful satisfaction if we saw shelves piled high with TP?

Many years ago, I remember reading about some people's experience in Russia, when there was a shortage of goods. People would line up just to buy a loaf of bread and one ex pat wrote about how she saw some people rushing down the road in glee after obtaining a coupel of packets of TP.

Whoever thought we would see those sorts of days here?

Although... about a year before the pandemic hit, I read a book by an Australian author, Amanda Hickie. It was called An Ordinary Epidemic. Certainly made me think. Mind you, that was set in Sydney and the worst of it was over in weeks in that novel but the issue of short supplies was certainly there.