Management at a national toilet roll manufacturer have urged people not to worry as the business is well placed to meet the massive surge in demand.
The team at Leicester Tissue Company, which produces 25,000 tonnes of toilet paper every year, said they had enough to step up production.
Shoppers have been criticised for queuing round supermarket car parks to stockpile loo rolls, along with staples such as baked beans, pasta, pot noodles and tea bags as the country braces itself for a coronavirus lockdown.
Leicester Tissue Company, which is based on the outskirts of the city, had already spent millions ramping up production in recent years following growing interest from big name supermarkets.
Frank Millward, the sales and marketing director for the Thurmaston-based company, said there was no way they could have anticipated the spike in demand, but it was not posing any great problems.
Mr Millward said: “I don’t think anyone saw it coming but actually we were in a good position because we had been making plans for Brexit which it was thought would lead to shortages of all kinds of products.
“That didn’t emerge as some predicted but it some of the measures put in place can help now.
“What we’re seeing is unprecedented. We have a real uplift in demand.
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“All the retailers seem to have been caught short and we are getting firms who aren’t our customers coming to us.
“We will obviously be sorting our customers first.
“I wouldn’t use the phrase panic buying myself, I’d say it was overbuying.
“People generally go to the toilet once or twice a day and generally nine rolls will last a fortnight but people are buying 18 rolls or more.”
Mr Millward said: “In terms of capacity we are fine. We are £27 million turnover through an £85 million expansion.
“We have a new (production) line in place and two more coming next year.
“Our capacity is fine though we do have to get our own materials.
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“The reasons the shelves are empty are due to issues getting the lorries to depots and the product to the shops.
“We really don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few weeks but we are ready for it.”
Concern over stockpiling due to coronavirus fears has caused 海角视频 supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Aldi to come together to urge the public not to buy more than they need.
Twelve of the country's biggest retailers issued a joint statement on Sunday announcing: "we are doing everything we can so that you and your families have the food and essentials you need."
However, the rush of customers shopping excessively, has caused empty shelves across stores.