Lavatory paper sales on a roll after Covid struck

SALES of lavatory paper hit a record high of £1.3bn last year amid a wave of panic buying after Covid hit, official figures show.

Purchases boomed by almost 18pc as concerned families packed more than 855,000 tons of paper into their bathroom cupboards over the course of 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics – 13 times the weight of a Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

But even as paper was on a roll, billions of pounds in sales were lost on other British-made goods due to repeated lockdowns.

Sales of motor vehicles produced at UK factories plunged by a quarter to £39.5bn and civil aircraft parts tumbled by almost one third, to £6.5bn.

However, pharmaceutical sales climbed by more than £1bn to almost £15bn for the year. Demand is now returning to normal levels. But Fhaheen Khan, senior economist at manufacturing industry group Make UK, said the sector is facing new strains on supply lines.

She said: “As we return to what would appear to be more normal patterns of demand and the rush to panic buy and hoard disappears, manufacturers are having to turn their attention to secure a supply of critical inputs, including various metals and plastics, that are becoming increasingly scarce, or suffer from long lead times to production.

“In the short term, this will likely result in some price inflation for consumers until supply chains stabilise.”

This will either fade as supply improves, she said, or else wages will rise to match higher prices and attract the staff companies need.