By Delisa Thwala
Consumers have been hit by the scarcity of the popular Umcenge milk on retailers’ shelves.
It is worth noting that Eswatini imports Umcenge milk from South Africa much against the perception of many that this milk is locally produced.
Shops visited by this publication had no Umcenge milk in sight but displayed other milk brands like Clover, Numel, and store-branded milk. These are priced between E24.99 to E26.95.
A senior salesperson at Pick n Pay in Mbabane on Monday confirmed that they had not stocked Umcenge in a while, and they were feeling the brunt because customers preferred it to other milk brands.
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“It has become common now not to find Umcenge, and consumers are slowly warming up to other milk brands like the Numel, which is currently the cheapest with its litre retailing for E21.00,” said the sales agent.
Meanwhile, Shoprite recently had a special on the Numel brand milk where consumers were buying 2 packs of milk for the price of E34.00.
They, too, did not have Umcenge on their shelves; consumers spoken to inside the shop voiced their disappointment.
“I’m from Ezulwini. I opted to come to Mbabane hoping to find Umcenge but I was told it’s out of stock. We do not know what is happening but it’s bad because most of us prefer Umcenge,” said Zodwa Magagula from Ezulwini.
Another consumer said they were slowly getting accustomed to other brands but it was hard accepting that weeks go by without having Umcenge.
“Umcenge was affordable and now we are forced to use other milk brands. They are expensive and not as rich as Umcenge. We also cannot afford the really expensive milk like almond milk, Oat milk, and them,” said the consumer.
Bhekiwe Dlamini from Mbabane said it was high time farmers invested in dairy cows because the scarcity was opening a gap in milk production.
“Milk is part of our daily lives. There will always be a need for milk, especially in our day-to-day lives,” said Dlamini.
Worth mentioning is that the shortage of milk was Due to the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the Eastern Mouth Cape.
The Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka, stated that the milk shortage is a cause for concern and facilitates a clear sign to ensure that it needs to produce and start processing to have its milk.
Tshawuka said it was sad for Eswatini to be caught in the middle when other countries were suffering. He further said he hoped for the scarcity of milk to lessen and for things to be restored.
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.
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.
In previous interviews with various media houses, 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.
The country manager at the time said since the outbreak, they had 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.
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Lactalis Eswatini was known as Parmalat Eswatini until it changed its name in 2020.
Lactalis Eswatini is the home for dairy brands such as Umcenge, Emndeni, Emvelo, Eselwa, Lobhalaza, Parmalat, Cabana, Melrose, Président, and SteriStumpie, as well as PureJoy and Galbani.
The company recently launched its new product, Pride, which is milk and cheese.
At the time of the outbreak, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Sydney Boy Simelane also confirmed that they were also aware of the outbreak of FMD in Eastern Cape, which led to the shortage of milk in Eswatini.
Simelane stated that this was a huge challenge for the country, as it has led to the companies importing milk products in South Africa to be strained.
