By ANEEKA SIMONIS
A SUPERMARKET has been accused of attempting to sell its own generic milk to customers, while holding back the branded milk consumers are scrambling for.
In a backlash against generic supermarket $1 a litre milk, consumers have been seeking branded milk to support local dairyfarmers.
The milk industry is in crisis after dairy companies slashed the price for milk solids, and demanded back pay at an average cost of $120,000 per farmer.
Stacey Hlinovsky was shopping at Woolworths Lakeside Square over the weekend – but when she went to buy a carton of Pura full cream milk, she was unable to find any.
On closer inspection, she saw some packed away behind Woolworths branded milk – but apparently not for her to purchase.
“Behind all the home brand stuff in the back of the fridge was a whole stack of unpacked Pura milk,” she recounted.
“When I asked a staff member if I could have a three-litre bottle of Pura that I could see through the fridge window, I was told they weren’t allowed to unpack it until the other milk was sold prior.”
A spokesperson for Woolworths ruled out suggestions staff had been instructed to stop refilling branded milk stocks in a bid to prop up their own sales.
“We are very disappointed to hear that they did not assist you with your request. We will be following this up with our Pakenham Store Manager ASAP,” the spokesperson said.
“We can assure you that we are stocking branded milk the same way this week as we have done in previous weeks.
“In some of our stores we have been out of stock on these lines, as there has been an increase in demand for the product, but our replenishment teams are working closely with our suppliers to rectify this issue.
“We always aim to have our shelves stocked with the products our customers want to buy, therefore our team are working hard to increase the supply of branded milk in all stores.”
Demand for local milk has wiped shelves clean in many stores nationwide.
Locally, reports indicate the problem has impacted stores including Woolworths Kooweerup where consumers are opting to buy local, long-life alternatives to avoid buying the vast supply of cheap, chain-owned milk products.
The dairy industry is under huge financial stress due to action taken by dairy companies to claw back cash as a result of a global shortfall in milk demand.
Murray-Goulburn slashed milk solids prices from $5.60kg to between $4.75kg and $5kg because of the slump, with competitor Fonterra doing the same shortly after.
In addition to getting paid less, farmers are additionally being asked to pay back money they had already earned.
The crisis has sparked a huge farmer-driven campaign encouraging consumers to buy branded milk over chain alternatives.
The Commonwealth Government announced a $555 million package in concessional loans for dairy farmers affected by the price cuts on Wednesday 25 May.
It comes days after the Victorian Government an $11.4 million package for farmers in addition to mental health funding injected into extra counselling services including Lifeline.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is looking into the matter.
