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Tesco limits sale of essential items

Tesco has limited the number of sales customers can make on essential goods such as toilet roll, flour, dried pasta, baby wipes and anti-bacterial wipes, with customers now only able to purchase three of each item. 

It is thought that the big four supermarket made the decision as part of pre-emptive measures to help smooth demand rather than a reaction to change in buying behaviour or product shortages.

However the ongoing border dispute between France and the UK county of Kent is rumored to be one of the reasons that prompted the supermarket to clamp down on the purchasing of essential goods. Earlier this week Tesco and rival chain Sainsbury told the BBC that fresh food items could “run short” if lorries are prohibited from entering the country. 

It is also feared that Brexit uncertainty could lead to UK consumers panic buying as they once did in March. With the BRC reporting that no deal with the EU could leave the public with “over £3bn in food tariffs”.

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Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, has previously urged members of the public to not stockpile goods

She  said: “While no amount of preparation by retailers can entirely prevent disruption there is no need for the public to buy more food than usual as the main impact will be on imported fresh produce, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, which cannot be stored for long periods by either retailers or consumers.”

She added:”Both sides must double down and do what is necessary to agree a zero-tariff agreement, or else it will be the public that pay the price of this failure. 

“With many people’s finances already strained by the economic impact of coronavirus, households can ill-afford a significant rise in food prices. For the sake of customers and businesses around the UK, we need a deal in the next three weeks.”

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