Trash bags nearly sold out: Panic buying sends sales up 200%

Sales of trash bags have tripled while the purchase of food waste bags have doubled as fears spread that naphtha, a key raw material used to make plastic products, could run short due to oil supply disruptions deriving from the more than month-long Iran conflict. According to convenience store chain CU on Wednesday, sales of food waste bags from Sunday through Tuesday rose 153.3 percent from a week earlier. Sales of trash bags jumped 216.4 percent over the same period. GS25 also reported increases, with food waste bag sales up 182.7 percent and trash bag sales up 234.5 percent. Combined sales at 7-Eleven and Emart24 rose 169 percent and 177 percent, respectively. Signs of hoarding of plastic products began to emerge mid-March. The timing coincided with growing concerns across the petrochemical industry that disruptions tied to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would affect oil supplies and, in turn, the supply of naphtha. Demand for food waste bags and standard trash bags remained largely unchanged at most convenience stores earlier in the month, but sales began rising at a double-digit

Go to News Site