Supermarket customers in lower South Island warned to expect some empty shelves as floods delay deliveries

Supermarket customers in the lower South Island are being asked to be patient, with disruptions caused by the Canterbury floods likely to result in some empty shelves.

Both Countdown and Foodstuffs said deliveries to stores south of Christchurch were being affected by the floods.

“Where necessary, our logistics teams are finding alternative transport routes for our drivers, however, these do sometimes require significant diversions and will take the delivery trucks longer to get to their destination,” Foodstuffs NZ head of corporate affairs Antoinette Laird told 1 NEWS.

Laird said all South Island Foodstuffs stores — which includes Pak'nSave, New World and Four Square — in the South Island are currently open.

A Countdown spokesperson said deliveries to Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Mosgiel, Gore, Queenstown and Invercargill were affected.

“This means there will be some gaps on shelves but we’re closely watching the roads and we’ll get deliveries underway as soon as we can,” the spokesperson said.

“We’re working with our suppliers, transport partners and our stores to help minimise any impact to customers but certainly there are some challenges out there today.”