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Farmers in Australia Use Billboards to Calm Down Panicked Shoppers

Advertisements reading “Don’t panic. We’re experts at working from home” are put up in Australia to calm panic shoppers

Farmers in Australia Use Billboards to Calm Down Panicked Shoppers
A shopper wearing a protective mask exits a supermarket in Sydney, Australia. (Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Australia’s farmers are turning to billboards to try and calm residents as grocery stores continue to see waves of panic buying by shoppers worried about food supplies.

The National Farmers Federation is aiming to reach commuters directly in Melbourne with advertisements that read “Don’t panic. We’re experts at working from home.”

Farmers in Australia Use Billboards to Calm Down Panicked Shoppers

Consumers have stripped grocery store shelves of essentials including meat and flour as the government gradually ratchets up restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus. That’s despite repeated assurances from officials that there’s an abundant supply of food, with Australia producing enough for 75 million people amid a population of 25 million.

“Farmers want all Australians to know that running out of food is one thing they don’t need to be worrying about in these challenging times,” the federation’s president Fiona Simson said in a statement.

The call for calm can be seen elsewhere in Asia Pacific. In Indonesia, the government said it will take firm action against individuals and retailers who hoard staple foods including rice and sugar, with the police already investigating several cases.

Sugar prices in Indonesia have surged more than 40% this year, with many grocery stores empty of the key item. The country, the world’s biggest buyer of sugar, has boosted imports and asked refiners that normally supply the food industry to sell the sweetener to the retail market, according to the Indonesia Sugar Refiners Association.

In China, the biggest consumer and producer of rice, government officials over the weekend called on citizens not to hoard the grain after a recent ban on new export sales by Vietnam sparked concerns over global supplies. The country holds sufficient rice and wheat stockpiles for one year of consumption, and imports only account for about 2% of demand, an official said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.