Nationwide Milk Shortage

[BritManToo]

Just now, worgeordie said:

None on the shelves up here in Chiang Mai , only a local produced milk,

at the weekend , when this happens it's usually followed by a price increase.

 

regards Worgeordie

Yep, nothing in MaeJo either.

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Hmm ... another fake shortage

...started by AN members!

[shortstop2]

20 hours ago, dddave said:

I thought most of the whole milk sold in Thailand was re-constituted to be spoil resistant and not fresh from cows.   

I have had good experience with Chokchai not spoiling.  it is also ever so slightly cheaper than Meji or Dutch Mill.  7/11 doesn't have but little Tescos and Big C Mini usually have it.  Spoiling is an issue for me as I only use in my coffee. If reconstitution stops spoiling it's OK with me.

[billd766]

My friend out here in rural Kamphaeng Phet talked to me last week about this problem. He drinks lots of milk and at the three 7/11s near us the milk well has dried up.

 

Having read this thread it seems to be nationwide, and not just local.

 

My wife was in BigC at Kamphaeng Phet yesterday and she saw none there either so it isn't just at the 7/11s.

 

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I thought they had mostly decided to identify as bulls and stopped  yielding milk. 

Is that their woke claim?

(To be honest I don't really understand the meaning of woke.)

[Stocky]

Same here in Hat Yai, no 2 litre Meji full fat milk the last few days, the small size Dutch Mill has been available. However, the wife found All Season fresh milk, 2 litre size, in the big 7-11 this morning. Produce of the Southern Dairy Company, Songkhla - never seen it before - but it tastes fine, so I'm happy.

 

 

 

They have a website, very interesting

 

https://allseasondairy.com/about/

 

.

[connda]

57 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

No milk in 7/11's, Lotus or Tops around Phichit, and Sak Lek, found plenty of UHT milk though.

<Gag>  I drank that swill on long sea deployments.  ????

[connda]

37 minutes ago, shortstop2 said:

Spoiling is an issue for me as I only use in my coffee. If reconstitution stops spoiling it's OK with me.

Just go for 100% Whipping Cream. 

[EVENKEEL]

8 minutes ago, connda said:

<Gag>  I drank that swill on long sea deployments.  ????

I would use it for coffee but wouldn't drink it.

[keith101]

22 hours ago, jcowle said:

Very strange, cows don’t just stop producing milk ????

Maybe they are going to downsize again and waiting on new containers to arrive at their factories . The smaller one has gone from 1ltr to 900ml and now 830ml and maybe the 2ltr will go down 1.8ltr .

[BritManToo]

My misses says other countries are refusing to sell milk to Thailand until they sort out the election, Prayut and his cronies.

 

Doesn't sound likely to me but apparently it's on the Thai news.

[huangnon]

4 hours ago, connda said:

I agree.  Can't find cottage cheese anywhere.  I should buy some raw milk locally and make my own 'curdle and whey.'

There is a local Thai brand, "Yolida" that makes cottage cheese "Alli" range. The Mom & Pop shop near to us (Banchang) sells it as well as their main product, pro-biotic natural yoghurt (450gms for 65 Baht).

 

Yolida

 

 

The normal milk supply here doesn't seem affected, so far. Maybe Pattaya is just feeling it first due to the large expat consumption.

[Guderian]

I seem to recall that the last time this happened it was because the milk producers wanted to hike their prices by a large amount. The supermarket and convenience store owners (often the same people) weren't happy about it, though, so they boycotted fresh milk altogether. Hence all the 7-elevens, Big C's and Makros had no Meiji, but small independent places like Foodmart and Friendship in Pattaya still had it, though at high prices (115 Baht in Friendship, I think I saw, for a 2 litre bottle of Meiji full fat). They must have worked something out as a few weeks later it was back on sale at 95 Baht for 2 litres, a relatively small price hike. maybe the producers have tried to jack up their prices again and the shops have reacted in the same way? Let's hope it gets sorted out soon, anyway.

[chickenslegs]

Just as I walked into Makro, Sattahip, at about 1.00pm today they were stacking the milk shelves. Hardly a space was left. Every brand, size and colour of cap was available.

 

But just yesterday I couldn't find a bottle of full fat milk anywhere, nor even semi-skimmed.

 

Could have been worse, every few weeks there is a shortage of schweppes tonic water, and it can last for days.

 

 

[scorecard]

10 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I thought they had mostly decided to identify as bulls and stopped  yielding milk. 

Sure and that way they can avoid the need for disrespectful abortion laws.

[Neeranam]

7 hours ago, Pink Mist said:

Please tell me where?  We have been from the south of Pranburi to the north of Hua Hin (Makro) and the full fat Meji has been absent from the shelfs, small coontainers of the low fat available.  Chok Chai Farms is also missing as well as Dutch Mill, we just popped into both Villa's this morning as we were up that way and the shelves are still empty.  I asked the stock people and they stated that they have no idea why there deliveries have been absent,

Market Village at 5 pm. 

 

 

[Pink Mist]

24 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Market Village at 5 pm. 

 

 

Looks like the last few weeks of non deliveries were met today with a full stock.  Thank you.

[Jeff the Chef]

7 hours ago, connda said:

<Gag>  I drank that swill on long sea deployments.  ????

I find it ok, mind you I only have it in tea and for porridge in the morning.

[kickstart]

14 hours ago, ezzra said:

About that ' full fat' thingy, i have tried to make cheese at home from a Thai so called full fat milk for a very poor yield of cheese which bring me to think that the local full fat in anything but.

You are right the reason is the very poor diet of the Thai cows, main problem being very low-quality forage rice straw being the main souse of forage resulting in low BF,butter fat, and protein in the milk, hence not easy making cheese at home.

Note, Maji is a Japanese's company being a 51 -49% ,with CP ,hence Maji milk available at all 7-11's

[GroveHillWanderer]

19 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My misses says other countries are refusing to sell milk to Thailand until they sort out the election, Prayut and his cronies.

 

Doesn't sound likely to me but apparently it's on the Thai news.

That wouldn't explain why all the locally-produced brands were also out of stock, though.

 

Also, if such a thing were going on, why would it only affect milk?

[blackcab]

Chiang Mai today:

 

 

[jacko45k]

3 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

That wouldn't explain why all the locally-produced brands were also out of stock, though.

 

Also, if such a thing were going on, why would it only affect milk?

There is a shortage of whitewash too?

[Pink Mist]

Was just in at Gourmet Market in Bluport Mall Hua Hin.  Very little stocks of milk. Did find a few 2 liter bottles of full fat Meji on the shelf along with this sign which explains why we are seeing low amounts.

 

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

5 hours ago, Pink Mist said:

Was just in at Gourmet Market in Bluport Mall Hua Hin.  Very little stocks of milk. Did find a few 2 liter bottles of full fat Meji on the shelf along with this sign which explains why we are seeing low amounts.

 

 

I was there today and saw that sign. It doesn't explain much to me though. What on earth is a "dry cow situation during the milking break"?

 

I showed this to my wife and she said she doesn't understand what the Thai wording is supposed to mean, either.

[gomangosteen]

27 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

I was there today and saw that sign. It doesn't explain much to me though. What on earth is a "dry cow situation during the milking break"?

 

I showed this to my wife and she said she doesn't understand what the Thai wording is supposed to mean, either.

Explanation:

 

Dairy New Zealand 

Drying off

 

The dry period allows mammary tissue to recover and repair, and for cows that have been treated with antibiotic dry cow treatment (DCT), a chance to cure existing infections.

 

A minimum of six weeks (and preferably eight weeks) is recommended between drying off and calving for regeneration of udder tissue. It is important to prevent new infections, especially in the early dry period, which is why good management and monitoring of cows during the dry period is essential.

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, gomangosteen said:

Explanation:

 

Dairy New Zealand 

Drying off

 

The dry period allows mammary tissue to recover and repair, and for cows that have been treated with antibiotic dry cow treatment (DCT), a chance to cure existing infections.

 

A minimum of six weeks (and preferably eight weeks) is recommended between drying off and calving for regeneration of udder tissue. It is important to prevent new infections, especially in the early dry period, which is why good management and monitoring of cows during the dry period is essential.

That still doesn't make much sense.

40% of milk in Thailand come from NZ, another 11% from OZ where it's winter, and in Thailand it's summer.

Both regions cows won't be drying off at the same time.

So why no milk?

[gomangosteen]

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

That still doesn't make much sense.

40% of milk in Thailand come from NZ where it's winter, and in Thailand it's summer.

Both regions cows won't be drying off at the same time.

So why no milk?

It's calving time right now in NZ - July-August - and 'drying off' is the 6-8 weeks immediately prior to this. 

 

NZ dairy farms change hands, staff, sharemilkers, thousands of herds on the move every 1 June (Gypsy Day) which is a convenient date accordingly.

 

I gave an explanation of drying off in response to another poster, not in respect to Thailand's dairy imports. There may be other factors involved.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/20/2023 at 10:18 AM, connda said:

I should buy some raw milk locally and make my own 'curdle and whey.'

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curdles (huh?) and whey,
There came a big spider,
Who sat down beside her
And said, "Hey, Muffet!...it's curds and whey"!

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/20/2023 at 10:32 AM, digbeth said:

it looks like government price control makes it not profitable to sell the plain milk at the regular price, 

not how the expensive options like lactose free and barista formula are available normally

No milk shortage in Bangkok.

[BugJackBaron]

Goat milk is  far easier on the digestion for many people and no shortage yet.