Well would you look at that:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300601532/kiwi-companies-answer-call-for-us-milk-formula-helpNew Zealand dairy companies have applied to answer the call from the United States for baby formula.
Fonterra and The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) have submitted applications to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to supply finished infant formula to parents in the country amid severe shortages. Fonterra director of stakeholder affairs and trade, Simon Tucker said the company was fully aware of the severity of the situation in the US and wanted to help. The company doesn’t currently distribute baby formula to the US but A2 does.
A2 chief executive David Bortolussi said the company was standing by to help the US government, the FDA and its trade partners “to help parents and caregivers access high quality... formula from New Zealand during this difficult period subject to our stock availability.”
The company already supplied around 27,000 stores for major customers in the grocery, natural and club channels in the US, he said.
The country has been dealing with formula shortages after Abbott Nutrition’s voluntary recall in February leaving supermarket shelves bare in many states. The US Government has relaxed many of the country’s complicated registration processes while calling on international suppliers to help fill the gaps.
It has also launched Operation Fly Formula, using government aircraft to transport product into the US. Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) executive director Kimberly Crewther said Kiwi companies were actively investigating how they could help. Individual companies would be making decisions based on factors like availability of stock, she said.
The United States had not historically been an attractive market for New Zealand manufacturers because the FDA registration process was “onerous,” and there was little room for competition, Crewther said. About half of the suppliers in the US supplied subsidy schemes which were awarded on a state-by-state basis, she said. Abbott Nutrition’s voluntary recall impacted three different brands, for example.
While the US had indicated a need to build diversity in the long-term, it was unclear whether the temporary regulation waivers would develop into a permanent opportunity. Blue River Dairy marketing manager Gareth Lyness said, generally speaking, it would normally take years rather than months to enter a new market. Apart from regulatory access, there were retail barriers like packaging, distribution agreements and consumer tastes to consider, he said. “We’d like to help because it’s the right thing to do,” Lyness said. “My heart goes out to the parents and infants who have to be prepared to accept a different formulation.
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