Aussies are being warned about price hikes on dairy products ahead of Christmas
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Aussies are being warned about price hikes on dairy products ahead of Christmas
Christmas is just around the corner so everyone is rushing to their nearest supermarket to purchase ingredients and other paraphernalia for their celebrations.
If you haven't done your shopping and you're planning your budget, then you might want to read on to learn more about the price hike coming on dairy products.
Authorities have issued a warning on possible price hikes for milk and other dairy products ahead of Christmas due to reduced supply and increased demand.
Supermarket chains such as Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi have all lifted 10cents per litre on the prices of their milk products.
Supermarkets have lifted milk prices by 10cents a litre. Credit: Shutterstock/Bennography.
It was reported that the increase in price was caused by the shortage in supply of urea — a vital ingredient, designed to reduce nitric oxide pollution, which allows trucks to deliver everyday goods.
It should also be noted that the shipping company that transports milk from farms to factories in NSW, SRH Milk Haulage, revealed that the company had run out of diesel exhaust fluid AdBlue, apart from what was left at service stations.
Additionally, AdBlue is in short supply globally after China banned exports of the fertiliser earlier this year in an attempt to reduce food inflation in the country.
SRH Milk Haulage chief financial officer Ben Nix told Daily Mail Australia: 'We've got nothing in our depots in New South Wales - we're sending trucks effectively to service stations to get it.'
'If the service stations start running low, which I'm going to guess they will in the not-too-distant future depending on who they get their supply from, that just creates uncertainty in the market.'
'Hence, everyone's increasing their prices. You just don't know what's going on.'
'Effectively, it's just every man and their dog.'
The shortage of diesel exhaust fluid caused global chaos as more and more countries are rushing to bid to other urea-producing nations like Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Trade Minister Dan Tehan called on transport companies to avoid hoarding AdBlue on Monday.
Mr Tehan also assured the public that the crisis would not affect Australia because the government is looking to import alternative supplies, hinting that they would procure supplies from Indonesia, almost a week after South Korea signed a deal with the southeast Asian country to buy 120,000 tonnes a year for three years.
It was also reported that Australia is currently approaching Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Japan for urea supplies.
Trade Minister Dan Tehan assured the public that Australia will not be affected by the crisis as the government is prepared to procure alternative supplies. Credit: AAPImage.
Demand for milk is growing around the world ahead of the holidays but dairy production is not catching up, according to Dairy Australia senior industry analyst, Sofia Omstedt.
Ms Omstedt told news.com.au: 'We're seeing this fairly tight supply and strong demand putting upward pressure on prices, and at the same time, we've also seen cost pressures growing for producers of dairy and farmers.'
The expert also said that it is probable for prices to continue moving around early next year but shoppers will not be heavily affected by them.
She said: 'A lot of farmers last year had one of the most profitable years – dairy farmers in Australia have quite high milk prices at the moment from a historical point of view, and it means farmers are helping absorb some of the price increases.'
'Farmers fork out higher prices for things like grain and fertiliser which are becoming more expensive.'
She also cited bad weather conditions — drought which decreased cow populations in Australia and changing weather conditions which ruined yields — as culprits for the decreased production.
Aside from milk, other dairy buys are expecting to increase in price in the coming months. Credit: Saputo.
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