Fresh milk shortage hits Oman

Muscat: Citizens and residents are facing a severe shortage of fresh milk due torains disrupting the road traffic from Dubai to Oman, according to distributors and supermarket chain operators in Oman. “We only received 15 per cent of our stock over the weekend, which was exhausted within an hour’s time,” confirmed a senior official of a leading chain of supermarkets.
An official of Lulu Hypermarkets told the Times of Oman that they have faced shortages in fresh milk over the past few days due to the weather situation. "Our suppliers have told us that the recent poor weather has interrupted their delivery schedules, but things seem to be getting back to normal now," he added.
"Approximately fifty percent of the demand was provided in the past few days. By mid-afternoon, fresh milk started running short", he confirmed.
"We're expecting today's (Sunday) supply to be sufficient", he added.
Shop owners said a large portion of the area’s fresh milk comes daily from the UAE. “But as a section of Oman–UAE roads were flooded, very little milk arrived from the UAE,” a shopkeeper on Rex Road said.
Further, when warehouses of a milk supplier in Oman flooded, it caused a severe shortage, according to a supermarket chain. “But things are better now and we hope that normalcy will return this week,” the official added.
Residents said they had a difficult time purchasing fresh milk over the weekend. “After hunting in four super markets, I managed to buy only three bottles of 200ml, and that from a small shop near a petrol pump in Aziaba,” said Shushma Adhikari, a resident of Qurum.
Others said they had to purchase long-life milk. “I didn’t had any other alternative other than to buy long-life milk, as fresh milk was just not available anywhere,” said Kumar, a Bangladeshi expat who lives in Ruwi.