Lack of Carbon Dioxide in New Zealand News Shortage of Beer and Soft Drinks

Since then problems have arisen for craft brewers and soft drinks producers New ZealandA with Lack of carbon dioxide It leaves your drinks fizzy.

The temporary closure of New Zealand’s only liquid carbon dioxide plant has prompted beer and soft drinks producers. Reduce production Be warned about the peak of summer and the dwindling supply of drinks.

Only the Kapuni plant produces CO2 Food quality The other site in New Zealand has been permanently closed since March last year, but operations ceased in December due to safety concerns, Todd Energy chief executive Mark Macfarlane said. While the facility is scheduled to resume production in about a week, it will only produce 30% of pre-shutdown levels and will take several months to return to full capacity.

CO2 is used to add fizz to carbonated beverages, to preserve and process many common foods, and for medicinal purposes. It has caused a shortage of a Global confusion In recent years, New Zealand has become the latest country to face a sudden and disruptive deficit.

“It’s a bad situation, it’s gotten a lot worse,” he said. Joseph Raffel, co-founder of the Garage Project craft beer maker. Your business has produced 64,000 liters of beer and you can’t bottle until the CO2 arrives.

“At this point I think we could pay a king’s ransom to get someone to supply us with CO2.”

The shortage According to a company statement, national CO2 distributor BOC has been prompted to ration supplies, prioritizing “critical water, defense and medical customers”.

A soft drink manufacturer said the rationing system, while understandable, had created a “vibrant” supply chain.

“Today I ordered four CO2 bottles and only received one,” he said. Marlene Chui, a spokesperson for Pete’s Natural Sodas, a small producer based in Nelson. “If we can’t bottle drinks, there’s no business.”

Suy and other beverage makers fill the gaps with imported CO2, but it’s not easy to get; It costs more than domestic production and is subject to global freight networks where delivery times and quantities are uncertain.

For those looking offshore for gas supplies now, he said, “it’s very competitive because there’s a shortage in Europe and the US and the UK.” Dylan FirthExecutive Director of the Brewers Association, which represents brands that account for 70% of the country’s beer sales.

New Zealand’s small market can make international competition difficult, especially for independent brewers. “There’s a problem of scale,” Firth said. “They didn’t order enough quantities to fill an order.”

said Firth Brewers They held talks with the government this week on long-term solutions for the industry.

Although production at the New Zealand plant has resumed, “with limited supply and further lockdowns, it’s unlikely we’ll get a big break,” he said.

Government of United Kingdom intervened to stop the damage caused by CO2 deficiency by 2021; That crisis prompted a government bailout of the country’s biggest supplier. Britain will again struggle with CO2 imports in 2022, joining Germany and Italy, due to cost increases due to plant closures and rising natural gas prices.

A report from Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment He said several agencies in New Zealand were monitoring the shortage and facilitating conversations within the industry about it. Officials are also in touch with the British government to learn from the UK experience.

By 2021, 84% of beer available for consumption in New Zealand will be domestically produced.

ruffellWellington’s Garage Project said the sector needed more investment in innovation, particularly to develop its own capacity to capture and process CO2, and the shortage prompted the government to consider this.

“They recognize that the CO2 problem is an unintended consequence of moving away from oil and gas, and they don’t want to see certain industries unfairly penalized,” he said.

The brewery is raising its beer prices in 2022 after the CO2 price was established 11 years ago to “more than triple,” Raffel said.

“We’re reluctant to do it again because we know people are struggling,” he added.

The shortage has prompted warnings from other New Zealand food producers, from warnings that some poultry products will disappear from supermarkets to predictions of rising tomato prices. Meat and dairy processors have also raised the alarm that exporters are using liquid CO2 for dry ice, which keeps food products cold in transit.

Source: The Guardian