‘There’s enough basic goods in stock,” STC reassures public amid panic buying |17 March 2020
STC has said it has enough dry goods in stock to feed the population (Photo: Jude Morel)
As retail and wholesale outlets are overwhelmed with the army of people panic buying in light of the measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seychelles Trading Company Ltd (STC) yesterday assured the public that the primary distributor of basic goods stocks enough dry goods to feed the population for months to come.
Led by chief executive officer of STC, Christine Joubert, and other officials from the company, the media were guided through the organisation’s warehouses along Latanier Road, comprising four large sections whereby dry goods including salt, rice, flour, sugar, lentils, oil, margarine, milk and toilet paper, among others are stored.
Walking through the facility, it was evident that business is going on as usual as employees zoomed around on forklifts to unload containers of goods and stack on shelves inside the warehouses, while others proceeded with packaging rice and sugar as usual.
The wholesale section though, was clearly busier than usual, as retailers strove to stock up on goods to cater to the sudden increase in demand.
“Over the weekend, in fact since Friday, we observed that there has been a lot of panic buying at our retail and wholesale outlets. But we would like to reassure the public that we have sufficient basic goods for the population. It is a process that we go through throughout the year to monitor our stocks as is the case right now. We have adequate stock both for retail and wholesale for the public to purchase so we do not necessarily see the reason why people need to panic buy,” public relations officer Stephanie Felix noted.
Walking through Store 3, which houses palettes of rice, sugar, oil, lentils and toilet paper stocks, Ms Joubert explained that STC, through its operating strategy, ensures that there is enough buffer stock – a reserve of commodities which the company keeps on hand for any unforeseen eventualities – of basic dry goods to last at least three to four months.
“In our warehouse we keep buffer stock of everything that can see us through three to four months. Over and above our buffer stock, we have stocks that can last up to one month in rotation every day. If we start to use up from the buffer, we ensure that it is restocked. The buffer stock serves in unforeseen circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic that is now ravaging the world. We ensure that we have sufficient supply to last us a while,” Ms Joubert stated.
She also assured that shipments have not been disrupted and that shipments of goods are still inbound as usual. Indeed, outside of Store 1, 13 containers comprising salt, flour and other dry goods were yesterday being unloaded by employees to replenish the stock sold over the weekend. A further six tonnes of rice were expected to be unloaded yesterday, adding to the already high inventory.
“Up until now, we have not foreseen any issues or delays with shipments. We source our products from various locations and thus far, we are yet to be advised of any delays, changes or other measures that could disrupt shipment so we are carrying on as usual while ensuring we have enough for the population. We are meeting internally daily to assess stocks, amend orders if need be. We already have shipments on the way. Every day, out imports team meet to discuss stock and take the necessary actions,” Miss Felix added, noting that no drastic decisions have been taken by the company thus far to increase imports.
As for perishable goods which include fruits, vegetables and meat products, the company is unable to stock large quantities on account of the short shelf life of such products. However, Ms Joubert assured that there is enough stocks to last three to four weeks, with more shipments inbound as usual.
Among the items that people are stocking up on are toothpaste, toilet soaps, pasta, oil, rice and toilet paper, the latter of which is produced locally by STC at their Bois de Rose facility.
Touring the toilet paper factory, it appears that the company has enough stock of raw materials, including jumbo rolls, which is then remanufactured into single rolls, to sustain production for a while to come. The facility churns out around 36,000 to 37,000 rolls of toilet paper daily from six to seven jumbo rolls, equivalent to 25 to 26 palettes of packaged toilet rolls per day.
Again, Miss Felix and Ms Joubert advised that there is no need for people to panic buy and stock up on goods distributed by STC, a significant proportion of which are basic commodities, on account that the company can adequately supply the local market even for months to come.
Laura Pillay