Disruption to the global supply chain brought on by the pandemic is causing headaches to food importers and retailers alike.
Sixty per cent of all global goods are shipped by containers. Now, as cargo demand exceeds capacity, importers are facing worsening delays in the arrival of their containers, which is not only causing inflation but also affecting the quality of imported products.
Many raw ingredients have a short shelf life, and timely delivery is important to avoid quality deterioration. Fruits, vegetables, and perishables go bad quickly, and manufacturers rely on the punctuality of distributors, like the shipping companies to ensure goods reach on time.
Many importers, however, are facing serve shipment delays, affecting the shelf life of many products, resulting in heavy losses.
Before COVID, ships arrived from India to New Zealand within a month. Now, they can take anywhere from four to six months, with no guarantees of a fixed date of shipment arrival on the shores.
Manjeet Chawla, Owner of Harman Impex NZ says, “Previously, once the container was on the vessel, we would receive it within 28 to 35 days. Now, no one knows when it will arrive.”
Due to these delays, some products are arriving in-market too close to expiration, resulting in products remaining on the shelf post expiry or unsold and in the warehouse.
“Earlier, once the product arrived, and everything was cleared, we were able to sell within 3 months. Now, it’s taking up to 7 to 8 months. Harman Impex is an exporter of Britannia, which normally has a shelf life of 9 months. Now, by the time, it arrives, and we distribute it, it only has a shelf life of a month or two. This is a huge loss for us,” Mr Chawla said.
Tirath Atwal, owner of Indo Spice World, an Indian grocery store based in Manurewa and Papatoetoe in Auckland, Tauranga and Te Puke shared similar concerns as to Mr Chawla.
He said, “Because of the delay in the arrival of containers, products are getting damaged, or are expired or do not have the same quality as before.”
The shelf life of perishable products like flour, an in-demand product during the lockdown, has been affected due to this. Flour normally lasts six months after it is manufactured. If shipped within a month of its production, it still has five months till expiry.
Adding in a minimum of three months in the shipping container, an extended delay at the Whangarei port of 10 days, by the time the product arrives at retailers like Indo Spice, it has a shelf life of only one month.
“We are using local products as alternatives in such cases, but people prefer Indian products,” revealed Mr Atwal.