Hunger: how right are those who stock up on food "for a rainy day"

How likely is it that the situation in Ukraine will cause a shortage of essential goods in Greece? Are the inhabitants of the country afraid of being left without bread, butter, soap and salt? Journalists decided to look into this issue.

The fact is that shopping in supermarkets has begun to be carried out in a larger volume than before known events. Most middle-aged people are filling supermarket carts to capacity, something that has not been seen since the pandemic, when a total quarantine was announced.

Wise by experience, the older generation prefers to stock up on “long-playing” products during this turbulent time, so that on occasion they can live for some time.

The three main commodities that are being swept off the supermarket shelves are butter, flour and sugar.

The instinct of self-preservation in every war prompts the elderly to ensure that they do not starve to death. And if “everything is empty”, the family would have the most necessary for survival, writes in.gr.

For several days, this phenomenon, to some extent, was observed in all cities of the country, then younger people, heads of families, took over. “They take products that can be stored for months, such as legumes, spaghetti, some imported packaged cheeses, glass jars of olives, canned tomatoes, canned fish, as well as stocks of toilet paper,” says a supermarket chain manager in Qais.

The same picture was described by managers or employees of supermarkets of different chains, in Pagrati, Vyronas, Keratea, Markopoulos, Lavrio. The situation in Ukraine with global consequences has been going on for the third week. And citizens, anxious for the future, are stocking up on essential goods.

Supermarket workers who stack groceries on the shelves say that many people overbuy not only because they are afraid of war, but also because they think everything will become more expensive over time. Scarcity causes an unexpected increase in demand for goods and products. For example, sunflower oil is harder to find and “heavier” than ever before as restaurant and fast food owners already add it to their products.
In Thessaloniki, Apostolis Tapes, a grocery store employee in Evosmos, says demand for storable products has started to rise over the past 20 days. That is, it is spaghetti, flour, canned milk. “We are constantly filling the shelves. I think that if citizens had more financial opportunities, they would buy even more durable products.”

Expert opinion

“Greece has enough food. In recent decades, there have never been objective reasons for the disappearance of the main and secondary food products in the country,” the expert says.

The disappearance of many types of products from store shelves is a distorted reality. However, the country’s capabilities exceed the needs of the population. There can be no shortage of fruits, tomatoes, meat, and even more fish.”

At the same time, the former Minister of Agriculture admits that the cost of production may increase, because the “cost of production” grown in the fields (grains) is increasing. A Koropi farmer says the cost of a 25kg bag of fertilizer has almost doubled.

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