In the days following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all shops in Lithuania were seemingly out of salt. Why did people in the country panic-buy salt and why did it disappear from the shops in the first place?
Most of Lithuania’s salt supplies were imported from Ukraine, according to representatives of Maxima and Lidl, two major supermarket chains in the country. With onset of the war in Ukraine, the supply chains were disrupted.
“Shelves are constantly replenished with salt, but for the time being the demand for salt is higher and we are not able to meet it. This is the reason why the salt shelves are often empty,” Ernesta Dapkiene, a Maxima representative, said.
To compound the supply issues, people in Lithuania were seemingly panic-buying salt.
According to Dapkiene, Maxima supermarkets sold one month-worth of salt in ten days.
“We have noticed that around 800 packs of salt are emptied by customers in half an hour or less,” she added.
Lina Skersyte, public relations officer at Lidl Lietuva, also said the sales of salt had increased. Meanwhile, the supermarket chain is now seeking to find suppliers in other countries.
“Usually we have salt from different countries in our assortment, including from Ukraine, but at the moment the supply of Ukrainian salt is disrupted,” Skersyte said.
Other supermarkets, including Iki and Rimi, have also said they may limit purchases of essential goods, including salt, amid the recent panic-buying spells. Why people in Lithuania were craving salt, however, remains unclear.
Earlier in March, Ukraine’s businesses offered to resume exports of salt to Lithuania.
“As Ukraine resumes factory operations and supply chains are being coordinated, we invite Lithuanian businesses to renew their contracts on favourable terms,” Serhiy Prokhorov from the country’s Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs said in a statement.
To ease the salt anxiety, Lithuania’s Environment Ministry took to Facebook, claiming the country had the equivalent of 195 tons of salt per person.
“The problem is that salt extraction in Lithuania is not profitable. But if the going gets tough, we will get there,” it said in the post covered with emojis and a hashtag “there will be salt” (#druskosbus). (LRT/Business World Magazine)