Health & Family Baby Formula

Unfortunately I know people who makes a killing by cleaning out the formula supplies in supermarkets and ship them to China.

Yes those companies.can directly send those baby formula to China for sale. However, people there only trust baby formula that are shipped from Australia.

This is because just because the can outside says Karicare Aptamil Gold, doesn't mean the contents inside is. Just to give you an idea there has been news in China in the past (a while back) that the middle man switched imported formulas to substitute. What it means is that there a a HUGE demand for retail imported baby formulas (not wholesale).

That's why at all those Chinese suburbs in Sydney (eg Eastwood, Hurstville etc) there are a lot of shops that specialised at selling baby formulas with shipping direct to China. They are making a fortune on this.

It is not a problem if there are enough supplies around for everyone. However it is a problem if causes cleanout of stock at supermarket and people cannot get it.

Coca Cola example is not right as there are always tons in stock even if convenience store keeps buying them and it is not considered important drink. I would use water as example instead. But let's just say water can only be bought at supermarket (and no tap water etc) and someone constantly cleans up all stock of water as soon as it comes out. I think there will be a lot more people up in arms.

Of course, there are other brands of baby formulas available however Karicare Aptamil Gold is considered the best (rightly or wrongly) and my kid also drink this. So it does impact me. However I do know where to get this so the impact for me is smaller.

 

@kamchatsky - out of curiousity, how come these people you refer to can't buy direct from Karicare instead of choosing to buy from the supermarket? Is it because Karicare won't sell to them?

 

There are plenty of mobs which sell by the case, delivered to your door. Why would you botherwith retail? Ageed @neK

 

Did not know that. PM sent to you @Scott No Mates

 

We got resourceful when we had kids.

 

Hi

I don't blame the Chinese demanding our higher quality and safer baby formula. However I believe Australia should look after its own residents first. For those profiteers exporting formula to China looking after their own pockets first, they would be the same scrupoulos type of person who would sell our oxygen to another planet and not worry about the potential consequences.

Australia is seen as a major safe food bowl for China's residents and we need to implement measures as a whole to make sure we are well "catered" for...pudding the pun! For example I would hate to become a country one day full of desal plants manufacturing lots of drinkable water only to have it all exported to China and we have nothing to drink, this could easily happen to our dairy products.

I just wonder what is "really" driving the demand for Chinese investment into rural Australian land? Do they want to setup military bases here or do they want to setup large dairy farms that will export all products back overseas?

Ethics and morals come into play when privateers are exporting baby infant formula directly from our supermarket shelves and for those that do not see what is morally wrong may not ever realise this till it is their own baby that is upset.

I wonder the implications and/or benefits of the newly implemented Chinese - Australia FTA agreement will have on these issues.

Regards,

alicudi

 

It is a standard ethical thing in all retail trade, you'll find.

If retailers of a certain product found a wholesaler is selling "out the back door" to retail customers, they would probably not deal with that wholesale supplier again.

 

I did that on a number of occasions in my ProShop - drinks in particular.

And; I even made sure my drinks sales rep knew I'd done it when he/she called in to visit.

They weren't overly impressed, but what can they do?

There are numerous pricing structures in the various industries based on turnover.

 

It's all about food security - we are literally selling off the farm. Essentially we will have to import produce grown in Oz and stand in line after OS investors have satisfied their own local markets.

 

so you think with say dairy we will produce, process, pack, export and then import the very same product? not likely.

japanese have invested in dairy processors in this country for decades, where was the hysteria then? just a few years ago itochu invested in burra foods and that enabled them to put in a spray dryer they would have never have been able to afford. they also provided a new and stable massive network for the company to sell through.

burra, a longstanding family owned dairy company in victoria, itochu (a massive multinational japanese trading house) and australia in general have all gained significantly from this partnership/investment. this is a good thing.

when a large processor went bust last year burra was able to come to the rescue of the farmers facing ruin because they had the physical capacity to process and the financial strength to undertake it, in large part due to how strong it has become after the partnership with itochu.

feel free to point out any holes in the above, these are real life examples

 

@sanj not saying that we will necessarily be importing our produce but more likely standing in line for it. Much of our 'export quality' produce doesn't hit the market here it goes directly to those who can afford to pay.

When food security becomes an issue on a global scale, where do you think we will stand in the queue? If you consider the population projections for Oz at 50m in 20-30 years, where will other countries be? Rising affluence in Asia, increased demand for meat (all categories) & milk products.

 

Well that makes sense if Karicare didn't want to sell me between 1-8 cans...

So im guessing these guys who clear out the shelves at woolies/coles don't want to buy a the minimum stipulated number by Karicare... would that be a fair assumption?

You'd think these guys would band together to buy direct from Karicare, surely between them they would meet the minimum bulk order.

 

There may not even be a minimum bulk order size if you're not a wholesaler with an ongoing contract.

For one of my businesses, I've tried to buy an ingredient direct from the manufacturers ... not even a reply to any of my email or phone enquiries - just not interested. And that was me wanting to by around 1,000 units in one hit

 

And they're still at it

'My blood was boiling': Mother behind that photo of baby formula bulk buy speaks out

...........................

 

It's not about order size; it's about ethical and long-term business practice.

No wholesaler (with any brains) is going to sell direct to the public out the back door and risk losing possibly many retail accounts - once the retail accounts find out and all tell each other what is going on.

I've seen it happen in the Golf Industry some years ago.

 

The bulk purchasing power of the duopoly would be able to ratchet down Karicare's pricing too - so even buying direct as a small distributor probably won't be cheaper than buying retail.

 

I'm just referring to the entire pallet of milk powder being taken by a single person at Woolies..... And another person standing guard to make sure no one else gets to it.

Looking at that picture makes me angry, it's just wrong what they are doing.


Thankfully karicare have listened and you are able to buy direct - 6 cans (free delivery) limited to 1 order every 2 weeks.

Unfortunately, those who can only afford 1-2 cans, have to pay $8 shipping per can.

 

Okay -- what about other products. We buy soy milk (my husband is lactose intolerant) when the brand we buy goes on sale I will buy the whole shelf. We go through it a lot and it is something that we use every day.

You are making a judgement that these people are sending it overseas, maybe that is happening, but maybe they like to stock up so that they don't run out/run low. Obviously, it has become an issue in some supermarkets to implement a rule about the quantity you can buy at any given time, however it is no different to other products.

What if the area they live in doesn't stock that product? I know that I have to go to specific stores to get lactose free products as many stores don't store the products I need.

I feel like there is a lot of judgement that is being hidden behind the call of 'ethical (or unethical) behaviour'

 

So you buy it up when it goes on sale. What about when its normal price? Do you buy it all up?

Assuming you go through 1 per day. Do you really need to clear the shelf out, or could you actually buy maybe 7 and leave the rest for others who are in a similar position to yourself?

How about the person who happens to need to it when it runs out? Or you don't care as long as your needs as satisfied?

Anyway, as i said, Karicare are helping address this by offering it for sale online. Still doesn't change the fact that watching these people buy up an ENTIRE PALLET makes me angry at their pure selfishness.

 

No idea. Maybe someone should formulate a recipe!!