for the last 2 weeks I notice a lot of unstocked shelves in carrefour and PX mart. In my last visit to Costco Guandu there was only beef heel and no other cuts. I’m used to Costco occasionally running out of stuff, but haven’t seen empty shelves in carrefour or other supermarkets (except during the first few days of panic buying ).
Anyone else feels the same ?
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I don’t know about food per se, but I’ve noticed the beer selection getting a lot less variety lately at my local Carrefours. A lot of the imported beers are gone and it’s looking more and more like the fridge at 7/11. Not good, but oh well. There’s probably more controls on cargo flights coming in due to (hopefully) stricter pilot quarantines and other COVID measures/ disruptions.
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Worldwide Transport delays with boat container shortage
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Nope I have not noticed it in New Taipei City. Maybe a little less but not much. I have noticed people buying a lot more. I doubt supermarkets in Taiwan are feeling any hurt from the pandemic.
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Traditional market is full of both people and goods. Small organic stores too.
I see the beer piled up at Family Mart.
I also see people coming home hauling huge bags. Costco boxes piled up at the recycling station.
Maybe the buy more, go out less message is getting through too well?
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Good for farmers too I hope, and not just the supermarkets.
It does not seem to rain much these days, last thing we all need right now is a drought.
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At least the north should see plenty of rain next week.
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full of people, but less produce variety. I notice the same in the traditional market too. you can attribute it to weather, sobi only used supermarkets as an example.
Yes there have been…Beef especially and also some veg.
Costco have been limiting purchases on milk, US beef and a few other items, stock in general is much lower than normal. Price of vegetables in local supermarkets has also gone through the roof. Assume a combination of more people cooking at home, some hoarding and perhaps logistics issues on importing.
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I’ve seen some selection limited in Taipei City, but I see little indication that we are all going to starve.
Guy
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Use the wet and traditional markets.
Almost all the staples we use from the chicken, pork and duck to the rice, vegetables and fruit are grown or raised with the view of the top floors of our tallest apartment buildings in town.
Buy local. Buy fresh.
When you live in the country, you have a different problem. Your students, friends and family are farmers who don’t want to waste unsold fruit.
So they give it to you a few days before it goes bad.
It’s a sin to waste food so you go to your friend to give him some. There you see his table in his shop filled with fruit to pass on to any customers who want it.
Feast or famine.
Same.
Also the veg and fruit and found in the market could be from anywhere. Taiwan also imports a lot of food. Pork and chicken and duck are probably local though.
I’ve noticed there is no bacon in any quan nian that I visit. That shelf is empty for some reason
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I’ve noticed more empty shelves than usual at the main Carrefour and PXMart I go to in Danshui, but my own shopping hasn’t been affected much, beyond buying different brands of milk or soy milk than I usually do.
I think the empty shelves have been things like potato chips and instant noodles?
My local ones don’t sell milk or beef, does yours?
Convenience stores.
If you look closely
- Instead of one slot for an item, multiple slots.
- Filling dead space with abnormally large amounts of Taiwanese gift type snacks in multiple sections.
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Happily plenty of fresh fruit in the convenience stores (as well of course as elsewhere). This morning in my local 7-11 there was fresh watermelon (great to cool down), mango, papaya, and bananas—there may be more that I overlooked.
Nope, not going to starve in Taipei any time soon. 
Guy
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RT Mart had no all purpose flour yesterday. Just a bit of bread flour and cake flour. The racks were completely empty.
My local Seven has run out of my favorite whisky. If I don’t go on a trek, I may well starve.
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