DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5

Costco Limits Meat Purchases As Supply Shortages Loom

By Steve Wynne-Jones
Share this article
Costco Limits Meat Purchases As Supply Shortages Loom

Costco Wholesale Corp is to limit the number of beef, pork and poultry products customers can buy, as grocery stores prepare for massive shortages of meat supplies following coronavirus-induced supply disruptions.

Some of the biggest slaughterhouses in the United States closed over the last few weeks as COVID-19 spread widely through meat processing facilities where large groups of employees often work shoulder to shoulder in difficult conditions.

Three Items Per Member

Costco said it would temporarily limit fresh beef, pork and poultry purchases to a total of three items per Costco member, following Kroger Co, which has put purchase limits on ground beef and fresh pork at some of its stores.

Starting Monday, Costco will also require all shoppers to wear masks or face coverings to reduce the chances of transmission of the virus.

John Tyson, chairman of the United States' largest meat processing company Tyson Foods Inc said last week the food supply chain was "breaking" and millions of pounds of meat would vanish from grocery stores in the country.

ADVERTISEMENT

U.S. President Donald Trump later ordered meat processing plants to stay open to protect food supplies, a move that drew backlash from unions that said at-risk workers needed more protection.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.