There were early signs of Irish shoppers stocking up on hand sanitisers and bread just as official warnings about the spread of Covid-19 stepped up, according to the latest super- market spend figures.

Supermarkets sold almost €11.2bn in groceries last year, up by €310m from 2018, as the ‘big five’ grocers maintained their grip over the market.

Spending growth at Irish supermarkets surprisingly slowed in recent weeks but the slowdown may be shortlived, according to the latest survey of the stores.