[ad_1]
New Zealand is facing a perfect storm that could cause food supply gaps for the next six months, warns Food and Grocery Council Executive Director Katherine Rich.
Industrial action in Australia’s ports, congestion at ports due to Covid-19 restrictions and shipping companies bypassing New Zealand are contributing to supply problems, he said.
“We are deeply concerned,” Rich said.
“The combination of factors makes the New Zealand experience much more extreme than in other countries.”
READ MORE:
* Rebuilding New Zealand’s coastal transportation industry requires government intervention
* Third ‘U-turn’ gives companies the green light to reduce backlog of imported products
* Coronavirus: Retailers Trust Supply Chain Despite ‘Panic’ Supermarket Shopping
* Supermarket accused of intimidating suppliers, terrorizing sales reps
The country is unlikely to run out of full product lines, but some brands would be missing, Rich said.
Traditionally, New Zealand was a low-value route for shipping companies, he said.
MONIQUE FORD / THINGS
Global shipping companies are bypassing New Zealand, causing supply shortages for some products.
Local ports were added to the container ship services heading to and from Australia.
But industrial action in Australian ports meant that shipping companies were avoiding New Zealand altogether, Rich said.
“New Zealand is suffering from the tyranny of distance,” he said.
Rich recently attended a meeting with 400 members of the Food and Grocery Council in Christchurch.
More than a quarter said they faced supply challenges, he said.
The delays at the ports also meant that there had been an increase in surcharges, resulting in higher costs.
“Companies are seeing margins shrink to the point of loss,” he said.
Logistics firms were predicting that this would be the status quo until at least March, Rich said.
“No one should be dependent on inventory.”
Supply from Europe and China was particularly tight, he said.
“The problem with China is that the shutdown has been followed by unprecedented demand to buy things,” Rich said.
“Consumers must realize that we will face shortages of some products. It’s not about never getting a product, but when. “
Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifan said there were global challenges with shipping, including limited availability of shipping containers, which was causing some shipping delays.
“Locally, there is congestion in the ports of Auckland, Tauranga and Sydney,” Hannifan said.
“This is having some impact on a variety of [international] products as well as local products where local suppliers depend on imported ingredients or packaging. “
Supplied
Food and Grocery Council Executive Director Katherine Rich says New Zealand is facing a perfect storm that could cause supply shortages.
Countdown was working closely with its suppliers to manage the situation, Hannifan said.
“We don’t expect any category-level problems at Christmas,” he said.
Food Products Spokesperson Antoinette Laird said there was a lot of pressure on air and ocean freight services affecting food and ingredient importers around the world.
“New Zealand is no exception and our suppliers are doing a great job supporting us to handle the current pressure on imported supply,” he said.
However, Foodstuffs ‘supply chain impact for its Pak’ n Save and New World supermarkets had been minimal and the company was well served by local producers, he said.
Food is not the only product struggling to enter the country.
Several retailers have warned that there could be a shortage ahead of the holiday season.
In September, Briscoe Group Managing Director Rod Duke said the supply problem had worsened this year with China delaying its New Years holiday schedule, the global spread of Covid-19, and shipping companies had put their ships down. down for maintenance, thinking they wouldn’t be that busy.
But the roads in this part of the world have been extremely busy, Duke said.
“There is a real problem getting space in the containers.” he said.
