Baby Milk Powder supply to China

blueoval · 12-11-2015, 03:29 PM

I'm not sure if this concerns everyone but reading what is happening with the Organic Baby formula from supermarket shelves, being sold at 4x the market price to China and leaving nothing for local families to buy. One has to wonder how this will end.

At the moment there are numerous Chinese businesses and no doubt non chinese businesses who are 'cashing in' on the demand and sending back this formula to China at massive mark ups. They are buying it by the crate fulls leaving nothing for genuine families who NEED this for their child.

I have no issue with people making a dollar, but NOT at the expense of local families who just want to feed their family and not have to spend hours scouring the country to find the formula they need.

Should the supermarkets rashen the supplies to ensure all parents get a fair go in obtaining the formula?

http://www.news.com.au/finance/busin...-1227602628757

What are your thoughts?

**DJM83** · 12-11-2015, 03:35 PM

I know at my work baby formula hasnt been in large supply for a long time. And its not just organic lines its the whole category. And its on what we call fare share at the moment. On Tuesday i had a customer of asian decent call me and ask for stock i said none until end of the week he wanted me to order more for him but i told him no, he was coming from Sydney to get it (6hrs away). I proceeded to check sales for the line he was after and we sold 12 the day prior (not in one transaction)

blueoval · 12-11-2015, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM83

I know at my work baby formula hasnt been in large supply for a long time. And its not just organic lines its the whole category. And its on what we call fare share at the moment. On Tuesday i had a customer of asian decent call me and ask for stock i said none until end of the week he wanted me to order more for him but i told him no, he was coming from Sydney to get it (6hrs away). I proceeded to check sales for the line he was after and we sold 12 the day prior (not in one transaction)

Seems like this has been going on for months, but has since ramped up very recently ever since to the 2009 scare in China with 6 babies dying and 300,000 babies left ill due to poor quality formula.

From what I have read, Chinese look at Australian food as high quality with high regulations and they are prepared to pay for it.

FGX335 · 12-11-2015, 03:55 PM

The answer is for the companies to ramp up production here and sell it into their market, cut out the dodgy middle men. Australian made but available for sale in their market.

blueoval · 12-11-2015, 03:58 PM

Yeah I agree. Could this be our chance to re-establish our niche back into manufacturing?

Magna · 12-11-2015, 04:02 PM

the Coles - Wollies milk war forced heaps of dairy farmers to the wall

http://www.smh.com.au/business/milk-...22-12wirn.html

now that demand has gone through the roof the remaining ones can't keep up

msman · 12-11-2015, 04:32 PM

this has been going for years, but recently people have seen $$ to be made and started up businesses dealing with just this, buying/selling/shipping.

before it was visiting family members buying a suitcase full and taking it back for babies in the extended family, saw and helped heaps of visiting grandparents get quantities they wanted when working in retail while-ago now.

welcome to the ugly side of the capital system, a little extreme but thats how it works.

were years behind taking the milk industry NZ has already established itself as the chinese supplier but it can't keep up afaik, been a while since i checked industry figures though.

CoupeKing · 12-11-2015, 04:37 PM

It should be a nation wide limit per customer across all chains.

What kind of a country are they running when after all this time most of the populace refuse to feed their babies anything made local? - and it's not just exclusive to baby formula, now more and more people are growing produce organically and swapping/sharing amongst the local communities.

Big_Daz · 12-11-2015, 04:52 PM

This is nothing new unfortunately... We had this issue with my son when he was still on formula... Long story short he was in NICU (newborn ICU) for his first three months due to genetic issues. He is not "Plumbed" like most of us and his stomach can be a bit funny with some foods... The formula they had him on in NICU, and worked well for him, is one of the formula's that these people go in to buy in bulk to send back to China... WE had a hell of a time finding it at all with all the local coles and woolies sold out due to the Asians coming in a buying it all up (something that I was many times with my own eyes). It had my wife in tears worrying about not being able to get my boy his formula...

In the end we found a Chemist Warehouse that kept the shelves empty. This was one of the nights my wife broke down about it to me. One of the staff members came over and asked what was wrong, we told her and she said they where keeping it off display so that these people wouldn't come in a bulk buy it as she didn't think it was fair on Actual parents who need this stuff... They had plenty out the back so we bought a few cans for him (only 3 I think it was). And we went back a few times to get it from the same place.

It got as bad as my Mother in Law who lives in Perth would buy us a tin or 2 (2 max we said to be fair to others) and mail them over...

the issue I have, is these ignorant ****** who do it just don't care that its not ethically right to do it.. You want to on sell in bulk, deal with a wholesaler directly..

blueoval · 12-11-2015, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Daz

This is nothing new unfortunately... We had this issue with my son when he was still on formula... Long story short he was in NICU (newborn ICU) for his first three months due to genetic issues. He is not "Plumbed" like most of us and his stomach can be a bit funny with some foods... The formula they had him on in NICU, and worked well for him, is one of the formula's that these people go in to buy in bulk to send back to China... WE had a hell of a time finding it at all with all the local coles and woolies sold out due to the Asians coming in a buying it all up (something that I was many times with my own eyes). It had my wife in tears worrying about not being able to get my boy his formula...

In the end we found a Chemist Warehouse that kept the shelves empty. This was one of the nights my wife broke down about it to me. One of the staff members came over and asked what was wrong, we told her and she said they where keeping it off display so that these people wouldn't come in a bulk buy it as she didn't think it was fair on Actual parents who need this stuff... They had plenty out the back so we bought a few cans for him (only 3 I think it was). And we went back a few times to get it from the same place.

It got as bad as my Mother in Law who lives in Perth would buy us a tin or 2 (2 max we said to be fair to others) and mail them over...

the issue I have, is these ignorant ****** who do it just don't care that its not ethically right to do it.. You want to on sell in bulk, deal with a wholesaler directly..

I hear the authorities are cracking down on sending this material interstate. So be aware you may not be able to even send or receive this item even from family members for reasons of good.

Deo · 12-11-2015, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msman

welcome to the ugly side of the capital system,

There's an attractive side??

Sent from my GTi-9305 using bloody Tapatalk

Franco Cozzo · 12-11-2015, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM83

I know at my work baby formula hasnt been in large supply for a long time. And its not just organic lines its the whole category. And its on what we call fare share at the moment. On Tuesday i had a customer of asian decent call me and ask for stock i said none until end of the week he wanted me to order more for him but i told him no, he was coming from Sydney to get it (6hrs away). I proceeded to check sales for the line he was after and we sold 12 the day prior (not in one transaction)

**** him man, ill buy 10 pallets from you guys but I want group buy discount

R&D Auto Electrics and Baby Formula Distributions

End of the day its supply and demand, I don't think they should limit the sales of it, if you need it well stiff **** get in early or pay more.

galaxy xr8 · 12-11-2015, 08:10 PM

The more demand the better for me, I bought quite a few shares in this company when it was established and they are doing extremely well for me right now.

Bearman · 12-11-2015, 08:26 PM

So, they're mad on milk powder as well as real estate!!!

Seriously, it beggars belief to imagine a particular commodity of food being in such short supply it creates scenes you would normally see in some third world armpit.

The outlets just have to have the gonads to endorse purchase limits without fear or favour. I find it abhorrent that Mr Chow buys up a whole pallet for profit while a local mum with a Bub who needs that formula goes without.

FGX335 · 13-11-2015, 02:44 PM

Can tell who isn't a parent here. To say stiff **** is really ignorant.

Our baby stopped breastfeeding at 2 months, just wouldn't take it. We tried Bellamy's, S-26, Karicare, all that, and it didn't work well with her at all. She was very gassy and unsettled, it was a nightmare. We found that the NAN HA Gold was the only one she liked, and it didn't upset her.

Now fast forward to when you are running low. You go to the supermarket, and her brand is completely sold out. What do we give her? Stiff ****? Yeah, real nice.

**GasoLane** · 13-11-2015, 05:54 PM

Would it not be possible to buy some online to keep as a backup in case your local Coles/Woolies has run out.

Franco Cozzo · 13-11-2015, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FGX335

Can tell who isn't a parent here. To say stiff **** is really ignorant.

Our baby stopped breastfeeding at 2 months, just wouldn't take it. We tried Bellamy's, S-26, Karicare, all that, and it didn't work well with her at all. She was very gassy and unsettled, it was a nightmare. We found that the NAN HA Gold was the only one she liked, and it didn't upset her.

Now fast forward to when you are running low. You go to the supermarket, and her brand is completely sold out. What do we give her? Stiff ****? Yeah, real nice.

Its called Capitalism, and I play the game

Your child isn't above everyone else if you need it so desperately then pay more for it, supply and demand, and at the moment there is more demand than supply.

So get in line early, pay more or buy more than what you need when you have the opportunity.

Why should the share holders of these companies lose out through restrictions of trade?

FGX335 · 13-11-2015, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Its called Capitalism, and I play the game

Your child isn't above everyone else if you need it so desperately then pay more for it, supply and demand, and at the moment there is more demand than supply.

So get in line early, pay more or buy more than what you need when you have the opportunity.

Why should the share holders of these companies lose out through restrictions of trade?

So let's just let these people buy a whole pallet of food, **** the kids in this country, ship it back and make a killing? They surveil these stores and buy the stock as soon as it comes in. I bet if your shop tried to order parts but the biggest player in town kept buying every last nut and bolt, you would lose your ****.

They have a reliable source over there, they just don't trust it. What happened in 2008 is unlikely to ever happen again, and they have the same products we do, but multilingual.

That's ok though, let the dodgy middle men make their money, I have to buy 12 months supply to ensure I don't run out. What a stupid argument, you shouldn't have to stockpile anything in this economy.

msman · 13-11-2015, 07:32 PM

i can see where your coming from but why should they have to risk their kids lives?
only the brand name is same in other countries but the standard of the product is substantially different.
you can't have a reliable source if you don't trust it.
they only have supply of a product which has previously killed numerous children.

don't forget we first world consumers demand alot of things cheap or as investers demand ever increasing profits which is causing more heartache in third world countries then we can even imagine.

from that article and a comment earlier sign upto chemist for priority purchase.
or as you have said yourself stock up.

shouldn't have to go to this extreme but as i said earlier welcome to capitalism its how the system works.

*not trying to be personal sorry if it comes off that way and do udnerstand your concerns/point of view

danzvtil · 13-11-2015, 09:23 PM

All this unnecessary xenophobia can be avoided if the outlets simply enforced their daily buy limits.

nstg8a · 13-11-2015, 11:04 PM

I'm with damo on this one, simple supply and demand.

Pretty simple ways around these issues.

Most common complaint seems to be 'oh we ran out and when we went to the supermarket after work they had sold out'
If it's so friggn important to your babies health then plan appropriately.
If you run out its not because of some Asian trying to make some money, it's because you allowed yourself to run out.

**ebxr8240** · 13-11-2015, 11:07 PM

Chinese adding melamine to Fontera Chinese baby milk doesn't help..
I see they have had poisioning threats to babies milk in NZ ..

deesun · 14-11-2015, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danzvtil

All this unnecessary xenophobia can be avoided if the outlets simply enforced their daily buy limits.

Very hard to enforce. Four ppl come in to supermarket as a family, walk in to baby food aisle and see sign "limit of four per customer". Easily circumvented as 4 ppl will now become 4 customers and walk out with 16 cans. From what I have seen Coles has been the only one to continue with restrictions to customers. The other day there was pics from a Woolies store where the palette was denuded of about 20 cartons of formula to one customer. Chemist warehouse has now advertised direct delivery in to China.

deesun · 14-11-2015, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magna

the Coles - Wollies milk war forced heaps of dairy farmers to the wall

http://www.smh.com.au/business/milk-...22-12wirn.html

now that demand has gone through the roof the remaining ones can't keep up

I think you should go back and check the topic of this story. This problem has nothing to do with the milk wars. No cow produces milk powder or baby formula.

Franco Cozzo · 14-11-2015, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FGX335

So let's just let these people buy a whole pallet of food, **** the kids in this country, ship it back and make a killing? They surveil these stores and buy the stock as soon as it comes in. I bet if your shop tried to order parts but the biggest player in town kept buying every last nut and bolt, you would lose your ****.

They have a reliable source over there, they just don't trust it. What happened in 2008 is unlikely to ever happen again, and they have the same products we do, but multilingual.

That's ok though, let the dodgy middle men make their money, I have to buy 12 months supply to ensure I don't run out. What a stupid argument, you shouldn't have to stockpile anything in this economy.

The difference between my situation and yours is that if some big player came in and started buying everything before we could get our hands on it is that I've got multiple suppliers across the entire country with the three major suppliers I can check their stock levels at any branch across the country, then there are a multitude of smaller players I have access to as well.

The only 'dodgy middlemen' are Safeway and Coles, what they do to farmers and producers is disgusting, but in this case its no good because its the little guy giving it a crack or is it just because it effects you now?

Yellow_Festiva · 14-11-2015, 04:27 PM

This has hit us hard actually.

We use Aptamil Gold + number 2 and we have seriously 15 family members trying to buy it for us over the last 3 months.

We now have 9 tins in our possession. No bloody joke. That's ALL we could get by that many people over that period of time. The family members looking for us cover a 200km radius from Sydney.

They love certain brands and shun others. You want Aptamil 3 or 4?? No problem, heaps on the shelf. As is Karicare and S26. I don't know why.

Costco was selling their 1.4kg formula for $5 a few months ago... but it isn't what the Chinese like so it just sat there.

I saw on the net a few days ago how 3 Chinese people went into a store the moment a pallet had been put on display and they wiped out the lot and told the 3rd person to sit on the boxes guarding what boxes were left while they were buying.

Had I been there after milk powder it would have got ugly... I'm still seething from the fact when we ran out 3 months ago I went to 12 different sellers in the 1 night and they all had none.

Customers even told the checkout girl to not serve them the lot yet she did. What a bloody joke.

Chemist Warehouse tells me that they have been not able to get stock for months, and the '4 per customer' limit is NEVER bloody enforced.

Who is to blame here??? Can't say. I bet production has been ramped up big time and it is already going direct off shore. When you are selling thousands of pallets to 1 buyer that's paying a premium the buyer that wants only hundreds of pallets at regular wholesale will always come out second best.

We are now feeding our 10 month old half formula and half real food. She is doing well on that and our little stockpile of tins should get us through to the end of the year when we roll over to number 3.

This is just the start. They have relaxed their baby policy over there from what I have read so it will only get worse.

Funny, my wife wishes she could breast feed but can't, yet I hear they see breast feeding as what a poor peasant does and people that use formula are seen as well to do and showing their financial might by not feeding their kids like the lowly village people do....

Romulus · 15-11-2015, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesun

Very hard to enforce. Four ppl come in to supermarket as a family, walk in to baby food aisle and see sign "limit of four per customer". Easily circumvented as 4 ppl will now become 4 customers and walk out with 16 cans. From what I have seen Coles has been the only one to continue with restrictions to customers. The other day there was pics from a Woolies store where the palette was denuded of about 20 cartons of formula to one customer. Chemist warehouse has now advertised direct delivery in to China.

I've seen a lady in Woolies with 10 tins of A2 formula in her trolley and the shelf was empty. I reminded her of the 4 can limit and told her to return the rest to which she did. This attitude annoys me, there are other parents who might buy 2 tins at a time (like I do) and seeing something like this gets my attention.

blueoval · 15-11-2015, 10:45 AM

I have no issue with people capitalizing on the opportunities that arise. What I do hate is the opportunists who do this at the peril or physical detriment of others for their own selfish gain. I see faith in humanity is being reduced ever more so now.

FGX335 · 16-11-2015, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

The difference between my situation and yours is that if some big player came in and started buying everything before we could get our hands on it is that I've got multiple suppliers across the entire country with the three major suppliers I can check their stock levels at any branch across the country, then there are a multitude of smaller players I have access to as well.

The only 'dodgy middlemen' are Safeway and Coles, what they do to farmers and producers is disgusting, but in this case its no good because its the little guy giving it a crack or is it just because it effects you now?

And what if those suppliers, nationwide, were being bought up too? What if you had to drive from shop to shop just to get a part here and a part there as you could get it? Would you be supportive of that system because they are 'giving it a crack'?

Luckily, my daughter is eating solids now and only has a bottle here and there, so it is not as critical as it would have been earlier this year. But does it **** me off? You are bloody right it does. Are the crooks Coles and Woolies? They are running a legit business, and a couple of posts ago, you were sticking up for their shareholders. Political stuff aside with that aspect, there are many babies who have no choice but formula, and you shouldn't need 15 family members, spread over 200km, to hunt for an essential food item like baby formula.

I have no problem with the manufacturers making the product as is and shipping it to China, but I'm be damned if empty shelves over here is ever an acceptable solution. You won't convince me otherwise either, and it is something only a parent (especially when breastfeeding yields little milk, malnourishing the baby) could understand.

Big_Daz · 16-11-2015, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FGX335

And what if those suppliers, nationwide, were being bought up too? What if you had to drive from shop to shop just to get a part here and a part there as you could get it? Would you be supportive of that system because they are 'giving it a crack'?

Luckily, my daughter is eating solids now and only has a bottle here and there, so it is not as critical as it would have been earlier this year. But does it **** me off? You are bloody right it does. Are the crooks Coles and Woolies? They are running a legit business, and a couple of posts ago, you were sticking up for their shareholders. Political stuff aside with that aspect, there are many babies who have no choice but formula, and you shouldn't need 15 family members, spread over 200km, to hunt for an essential food item like baby formula.

I have no problem with the manufacturers making the product as is and shipping it to China, but I'm be damned if empty shelves over here is ever an acceptable solution. You won't convince me otherwise either, and it is something only a parent (especially when breastfeeding yields little milk, malnourishing the baby) could understand.

I just genuinely don't think he gets it mate...

My wife wish's she could have breast fed our Son... Unfortunately for us once he was born he was taken away from us straight away to NICU where we where able to See him (but not touch him) before he then went straight into surgery for 9 hours... We couldn't even Cuddle him for the first few weeks due to the Surgery/etc... Due to this my wife's milk never really "worked" and even when we did give it a go it was too late... Formula was our ONLY choice.. With my sons issues (He has a Stoma with Colostomy bag and his stomach/etc are shorter than normal peoples) the only Formula he could stomach was Karicare branded one.. You guessed it, one of the brands these ignorant ****** are buying ALL stock of...

I've got no issues with "the little guy giving it a crack", its what this country is built on.. By all means, these Asians doing this, get yourself an ABN, approach the Manufacturer's/wholesalers of the formula to buy and then on sell at exorbitant prices to their family overseas.. They will probably make good $$$.. I say go for it.. But to get all your people together to go to every RETAILER that sells it and purchase ALL stock to send to your family is not acceptable to those of us in Australia who actually need it. Why the hell should we pay more from these Thieves??? Are you kidding me.. Hell, even if we wanted to they wouldn't sell it to us anyway...

Why didn't we stock up on the fomula you might ask? We are Considerate and only bought 2 tins at a time every few weeks...