Stock Groups

Exclusive-French baby formula maker Danone sharply ramps up U.S. shipments -Breaking

[ad_1]

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – Partly empty shelves for toddler and baby formula at a Medford grocery store, Massachusetts. This is due to the limited amount of products that can be purchased in spite of continuing national shortages. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

Richa Naidu, Lisa Baertlein

LONDON/LOS ANGELES – Aptamil producer Danone SA has increased shipments of infant formulation from Europe to the United States according to U.S customs data. Ocean Audit (a shipping consultancy in the United States) analyzed only ocean cargo data for Reuters.

Danone, which is second in baby formula production worldwide, was a minor player in the U.S. Market. However, it shipped large quantities of the product via ocean freight to North America through Nutricia North America after the February 17, 2017 recall by top manufacturers. Abbott Laboratories The U.S. shortfall was triggered by (NYSE:).

Ocean Audit CEO Steve Ferreira stated that Danone’s Nutricia division increased its ocean imports from North America by more than three times between January and May. More than 90% of the shipment was made to America.

Abbott has recalled many types of Similac and Alimentum formulas. It created one of America’s most severe food shortages.

A spokesperson for Danone said that they understand the importance of providing these formulas to families.

The Independent Quest, three days after U.S. president Joe Biden made his plans to address the country’s shortage of baby formulas, sailed to Philadelphia on May 10 to deliver 42,000 cans of Danone formula.

It was swiftly shipped to Jeffersonville, Indiana where it was distributed to retail outlets that had for several weeks been restricted in the amount of infant formula they could sell.

Ferreira explained that “if it arrives in the port on the Monday, I am almost certain that it would be out by Tuesday or Wednesday since the product is so hot.”

Ferreira stated that his data shows Danone Nutricia shipped nearly 770,000 infant formula cans to North America between January 1 and May 1, 2021, which filled approximately 100 cargo containers. He said that the cannage jumped to over 2.4 million during the same period in 2018.

Ferreira explained that 93% of this product was shipped to East Coast U.S. port, and 7% were sent to Mexico’s ocean gateways.

Separate U.S. Customs Data analyzed by Reuters show that nearly 38,000 kg (83,775.66 lbs) of Danone Nutricia cargo arrived from the United Kingdom, and was imported to the United States on February 22, five days following the Abbott recall. Although the customs data didn’t specify the nature of the cargo exactly, some were described as clinical nutrition powder and medical nutrition. Nearly 30,000 kgs of cargo was added to the shipment on March 9.

Reuters was unable to obtain any records confirming Danone’s imports of airborne baby formula.

[ad_2]