Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles have reinstated buying limits on essentials as panic buying spreads from Victoria to New South Wales.

Woolworths told news.com.au that there had been a spike in demand for toilet paper across both states.

“We’ve seen pockets of higher than usual demand for toilet roll across parts of NSW today, but not anywhere near the levels we saw in Victoria,” a spokesman said.

“We’ll keep a close eye on demand over the coming days. We continue to ask customers to buy only what they need, as there is plenty of stock to replenish our shelves.”

Woolworths is currently limiting toilet paper and paper towel to just two per person at all stores across the country. It also has a two-item limit on hand sanitiser, flour, sugar, pasta, mince, UHT milk, eggs and rice in Victoria only.

Coles has followed suit with even stricter measures. Shoppers are restricted to purchasing just one pack of toilet paper or paper towel at any Coles supermarket or Coles Express, nationwide

Managing Director of Woolworths Supermarkets Claire Peters said: “We have more than enough product for all of our customers if we all just buy what we need in our weekly shop.”

Likewise, Coles has urged customers to “shop normally so that everyone can have access to the food and groceries they need”.

Related supermarket news: Victorian supermarkets to reinstate toilet paper restrictions as panic buying returns