Retailers in the UK are rationing sales of powdered baby milk because of a surge in demand in China. |
Demand for foreign-made baby milk in China is strong after contaminated baby formula killed six infants in 2008. Retailers in the UK are rationing sales of powdered baby milk because of a surge in demand in China. Danone, the manufacturer of Aptamil and Cow and Gate baby milk powder, said most supermarkets were introducing a restriction of two cans per customer. It said the limit was to prevent some individuals from bulk-buying baby milk for "unofficial exports". Retailers were also capping sales of Nestle's SMA milk, despite the company saying there were no stock shortages. Danone said in a statement: "We understand that the increased demand is being fuelled by unofficial exports to China to satisfy the needs of parents who want Western brands for their babies." Chinese thirst "We would like to apologise to parents for any inconvenience caused by this limit. We know that most parents only buy one pack at a time, so we hope that the impact of this limit on UK parents will be minimal," it added. Supermarkets Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons said the purchase of certain brands would be limited to two units per customer per day. Foreign-made baby formula are popular in China, especially since a locally manufactured formula laced with the industrial chemical melamine killed six infants in 2008 and caused another 300,000 to fall ill. Earlier this year, shops in Australia were forced to restrict sales of infant formula, as Chinese customers and tourists bought them in bulk to send them home or to sell them online. Authorities in Hong Kong also introduced restrictions in February to prevent shortages, banning travellers from leaving the territory with more than 1.8 kg (4lb) of formula. Last month, 10 people were arrested there for trying to smuggle more than the allowed amount into Chinese mainland. Danone said it was taking action to respond to the shortfall in the UK, including increasing production of milk, which means extra supplies of all its brands are arriving every week, according to BBC business correspondent Emma Simpson. Boosting production Danone is also increasing production and supplies of its brands that are already available in China, in order to meet demand there. But it added: "If parents are unable to find their baby's usual brand of milk, we recommend they try another local store or revisit the store on another occasion." Richard Dodd, head of media and campaigns at the British Retail Consortium, said: "A number of retailers are limiting the amount of baby milk that can be bought by any one customer. "Retailers are taking this precautionary step to ensure stocks continue to be available to everyone wanting baby milk," he added. However, Nestle insisted there were no shortages of its formula milk available to retailers. The company said: "We do not have any evidence of bulk purchase of SMA for export, and we are in the process of contacting all our retail customers to confirm this, and to notify them that we do not have - and do not anticipate - any stock issues for powdered infant milks. We would like to reassure our consumers that we are not seeking to impose any limits on the sale of our formula, and any decision to do so is at the sole discretion of the retailer. Contrary to reports, Nestle UK has never requested that retailers limit the supply of SMA powdered infant milks sold to consumers." |
2008年中國出現(xiàn)問題嬰幼兒配方奶粉后,中國市場對國外奶粉的需求量越來越大。由于中國對奶粉的需求快速增長,英國的零售商對奶粉實行限購。 愛他美和牛欄嬰兒奶粉的制造商達(dá)能集團(tuán)透露,大多數(shù)超市正進(jìn)行奶粉限售,一位顧客只能買兩罐奶粉。該集團(tuán)稱,奶粉限購是為了防止一些人為了非法出口而大量購買奶粉。 零售商也對雀巢的惠氏奶粉設(shè)置了銷售上限,盡管雀巢公司聲稱不存在庫存短缺的情況。 達(dá)能集團(tuán)曾發(fā)表聲明說:“我們了解到,非法向中國出口奶粉是為了滿足中國父母對西方品牌奶粉的需求,這激起需求量的不斷上升。” 中國人的熱望 “對于限購給家長們帶來的任何不便,我們表示很抱歉。我們知道大多數(shù)的父母一次只買一盒奶粉,所以我們希望這次限購對英國父母產(chǎn)生的影響能降到最低。”達(dá)能集團(tuán)補充道。 阿斯達(dá)、塞恩斯伯里、樂購以及莫里森等大超市都表示,購買某些品牌的奶粉會限制為每位顧客一天只能買兩罐。 國外嬰幼兒配方奶粉在中國很受歡迎,尤其2008年以后,當(dāng)時中國本土生產(chǎn)的某些品牌奶粉被曝光摻有工業(yè)化學(xué)物質(zhì)三聚氰胺。 今年早些時候,澳大利亞的商店也限制了嬰幼兒配方奶粉的銷售數(shù)量,原因是來自中國的消費者和旅客們大量購買當(dāng)?shù)氐哪谭郏缓蟀涯谭郯l(fā)往中國或者拿到網(wǎng)上銷售。 香港當(dāng)局也在2013年2月份實行限購,防止出現(xiàn)奶粉短缺的情況,同時攜帶超過1.8公斤奶粉的游客都將被禁止離開香港本土。三月份,有10人因試圖偷運1.8公斤以上奶粉到大陸而遭到逮捕。 據(jù)BBC商業(yè)通訊記者艾瑪-辛普森報道,達(dá)能集團(tuán)表示,該公司會采取一定措施來填補英國的供應(yīng)短缺現(xiàn)象,其中包括提高奶粉的產(chǎn)量,而這意味著它旗下的品牌產(chǎn)品每周都會有額外的供應(yīng)。 刺激生產(chǎn) 為了滿足中國市場的需求,達(dá)能集團(tuán)同時提高了旗下產(chǎn)品的產(chǎn)量與供應(yīng)量,并且已經(jīng)向中國供貨。 但該集團(tuán)也補充道:“如果父母們不能在我們店找到他們的孩子常喝的奶粉,我們建議他們?nèi)テ渌痰曩徺I,或者下次再來購買。” 英國零售協(xié)商會的媒體和銷售活動負(fù)責(zé)人理查德?多德說道:“很多零售商在限售一些兒童奶粉數(shù)量,以便讓每個想買奶粉的人如愿。零售商正在采取未雨綢繆的措施,確保庫存供應(yīng),使所有希望購買奶粉的人能買得到。” 相關(guān)閱讀 (翻譯:陌上依清 編輯:Julie) |