In scenes mirroring what happened in Shepparton during a major COVID-19 outbreak last year gaps are appearing on supermarket shelves and Coles has started limiting purchases of items such as mince and sausages.
Representatives from both Coles and Woolworths said staff shortages had hit their own businesses as well as those of key suppliers.
Coles said its own staff issues had been compounded by a shortage of transport workers and wooden shipping pallets.
Extra staff are being recruited and fast-tracked to get stock on shelves.
Woolworths said while there were gaps on shelves, enough stock was already in the system.
“Deliveries continue to arrive daily and we’re doing all we can with our suppliers to restock our shelves as quickly as possible, with a particular focus on fresh food and essentials lines,” a spokesperson said.
“We expect to see availability improve over the coming weeks.
“While there are more gaps on our shelves than usual, we have enough stock coming through our network for customers to do a family shop.”
Victorian Farmers’ Federation president Emma Germano said time was ticking for agriculture.
"Farmers can't provide the food and fibre needed to feed the country without the means to transport it via our essential supply chains," she said.
"Our access to the inputs needed to operate is also severely impacted."
