By Delisa Thwala
The shortage of the popular Umcenge milk in Eswatini seems to have settled down as several retail shops have been spotted with the said milk on shelves.
The outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in South Africa, Eastern Cape Province led to the shortage of the popular Umcenge milk in Eswatini.
On May 9, 2024, the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform confirmed cases of foot and mouth disease (FMD) on one of the farms in the province.
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A case of FMD was confirmed on a dairy herd located at Humansdorp in the Kouga after the National Veterinary Reference laboratory conducted epidemiological investigations.
Three retail shops in Ezulwini Corner Plaza were spotted with the milk. These shops were Pick n Pay, Ok Foods, and Super Spar.
Although the smallest milk priced at E15.00 was not available the E 22.00 litre milk was available.
It is worth noting that Eswatini imports Umcenge milk from South Africa much against the perception of many that this milk is locally produced.
It has been observed that for the past few months, Umcenge milk has not been available in the local shops, only other brands were available.
In an interview, Lactalis Eswatini Country Manager Martin Herbst said they are aware of the recent FMD outbreak in the Eastern Cape in South Africa.
“This has indeed affected the importation of all UHT Milk brands out of that region (Eastern Cape) as per regulations in Eswatini,” said Herbst.
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The country manager said that since the outbreak, they have been in continuous consultation with the Agriculture and Land Reform, Rural Development (DALRRD) in South Africa and the Ministry of Agriculture in Eswatini; and they were confident that they would find a long-term solution.
Lactalis Eswatini was known as Parmalat Eswatini until it changed its name in 2020.
The foot ulcer and mouth milk have been caused by disease.
Meanwhile, in an interview, Mandla Tshawuka, the Minister of Agriculture stated that the milk shortage is a cause for concern and
a facilities clear sign to ensure that all country produce needs and processing to have its neighboring is done locally countries instead of like being South dependent Africa.