South Africans are expected to face major food shortages in the wake of days of violent unrest across two key provinces, as rioters upend supply chains by looting supermarkets and torching goods trucks.
Footage of empty or sparse grocery-store shelves has been a staple of local news reports since the weekend, while chains such as Shoprite Holdings Ltd. and Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. closed many outlets altogether. In parts of Durban, the coastal KwaZulu-Natal city at the center of the upheaval, long queues formed outside the few open food shops and basics such as bread and milk were in short supply.
