Visakhapatnam: Price rise fears fuel panic buying of supplies

Visakhapatnam: The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has started signs of impacting household budget.

Industry experts are of the view that the Indian economy is likely to be affected again at a time when it is slowly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation, they predict, is expected to turn worse as domestic trade is likely to be affected to a significant extent.

As the news about the impact of Russian invasion and subsequent price hike in edible oil and fuel spreads, it has resulted in panic buying among consumers.

Many are queuing up in front of the supermarkets and essential supply stores to stock up on edible oils, sunflower oil in particular, and other supplies for the next few months.

In Visakhapatnam, people are visiting retail outlets and petrol stations to buy more-than-required quantities of commodities and fill up the fuel tanks of their vehicles to the brim. "The speculation of price hike has eventually nudged many of us to stock supplies. Generally, one to two litre edible oil is enough for our family a month. But, we bought five litre this time. I decided to purchase more than double the quantity as one of my friends alerted me to do so," explains G Shankar Rao, who works in a private organisation at Auto Nagar.

Meanwhile, long queues are witnessed in front of the petrol-filling stations too as many are replenishing the fuel tanks. "With fuel bills already rising, we do not want to take any chances and hence opted for a full tank," reasons V Aditya, a resident of HB Colony.

For many, social media platforms have become a medium of sending alerts to their near and dear ones to stock enough quantities of edible oil, wheat and other stuff besides fuel that are likely to go up due to a possible supply disruption.

As prices of essential supplies are likely to increase further, household budgets are expected to go up in the following months.