Retailer official says no reason now to anticipate food shortages

Executive Director of the Association of Romania's Large Retailers George Badescu said on Tuesday at the Ministry of Health that there are no concerns about food stock amidst coronavirus affecting some countries.

"Going forward, for a predictable period of time, we do not anticipate shortages... or empty shelves. (...) The stocks we have at this moment, if we consider what sells in a busy period of time, close to the holidays, we could say that this is also the prediction in time. In other words, the volume of available merchandise would be able to meet the demand we normally anticipate when shopping is hectic. At the moment, there is no reason to anticipate food shortages. On the other hand, as you know, there are networks of different shops with different approaches, so I, an association member, would stay away from giving a specific term. But, as I was saying, there are no worries for the foreseeable period - say weeks, months," said Badescu.

He explained that over the last few days there were "higher" sales.

"There is no reason at this point in time for us to worry. There were some higher sales. That is one of the strategies we have in mind, to try to increase the orders," said Badescu.