Carnation Milk back on the shelves...Shoppers flock to Supermarkets

By Joyette Mills-Ward,
Business Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- SHOPPERS flocked to the island’s supermarkets and shops today after word hit the street that Carnation Evaporated Milk had arrived on the island Wednesday.

The commodity had been scarce for some weeks and even after grocers got their hands on a stock recently, they rationed the item, selling only two tins per customer at any one time.

Ambassador Rosalyn Hazelle of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs confirmed to SKNVibes.com via telephone interview this morning that the regular shipment of Carnation Evaporated Milk arrived in the Federation on Wednesday afternoon May 28, 2008 and was subsequently distributed to wholesalers and retailers by the St Kitts Supply Office.

Now that grocers can answer “yes” to the question “Got Milk?” consumers paid little attention to the price increase of the item.

SKNVibes.com enquired as to the accuracy of a rumour being circulated that the new shipment of milk would be sold at an increased price, which Hazelle confirmed indicating that in the Basseterre area milk would be sold for EC$1.95 per large tin, and EC$2.00 in the rural areas.

Concerned about a recurrence of milk shortage, SKNVibes.com asked if there were any measures being put in place to avert another incident of this type.  Hazelle informed SKNVibes.com that “the shortage was created due to the suppliers’ lateness in shipment” and not by anything procedural within the Supply Office. 

“Milk orders are made to cover forecasted demand for several months at a time, and normally take six to eight weeks to arrive on the island,” Hazelle indicated.  SKNVibes.com calculated that the shipment which arrived on Wednesday May 28, 2008 should have been here since April 23, 2008, based on the order placement date of February 27, 2008 given by Hazelle.

~~Adz:Left~~The shortage in St Kitts came about due to two things, Hazelle said, firstly the late shipment of this last order, and secondly, the oversubscription of orders to the St Kitts Supply Office by business persons who owned shops in both Nevis and St Kitts.  As Nevis suffered the same shortage and ran out of milk before St. Kitts, business owners ordered more milk than normal from the St. Kitts Supply Office in order to send some to their Nevis branches via the ferry.

Hazelle said that this was now the regular supply of milk for the federation and that the “rationing measures” which were being utilised by some local supermarkets (to ensure each householder equal access to the commodity), should no longer be necessary.