Dairy battles fluctuating markets to keep refrigerators and shelves filled

When the Beast from the East wreaked havoc on Scotland’s road network two years ago, food producers had to battle to get their products into stores and meet surges in demand.

The sudden cold snap was a testing but short-lived trial-run for the current crisis.

The national lockdown prompted panic buying, with fresh milk stripped from refrigerator shelves.

For Robert Graham, managing director of Graham’s the Family Dairy in Perthshire, the rapid spike in demand paired with ongoing volatility is proving to be a significant operational challenge.

He said: “When it started we saw huge surges in supermarket volumes to the order of 30, 40, 60, 100% on daily orders versus base, so that’s quite challenging.

“The team have been working really hard across the sites to deal with those increased surge volumes, so we did a great job of that.

“What we’ve seen of dairy in general from a UK perspective is a mixed picture of availability which has improved, but certainly on surge week there was very poor availability of dairy in the UK, particularly in England.”

Last week’s announcement of a lockdown, quickly followed by a sharp spike in retail sales and the closure of restaurants and hospitality businesses, was just the start of what is proving to be an ever-changing and highly volatile market, making it almost impossible for dairy firms to plan around production requirements.

Robert, who runs the family business in Bridge of Allan alongside his father, Robert Sr, and sister, Carol, said: “There was a surge in retail and then the food service (business) stopped

“So that’s quite a change to manage – what that means for our own lorries and also a change in some degree in what people are buying.

“In terms of where volumes are now from a general level as well as a product-specific level it’s quite hard to get a picture of what that true base level is – and that makes running things very difficult.

“If we don’t know volumes, the shape of our production and distribution three weeks ago is not necessarily what we need just now.”

Although the picture is an everchanging one, recent sales figures suggest a move by consumers towards convenience stores and there’s been a lift in inquiries regarding doorstep deliveries too.

“We do doorstep in some parts of Scotland,” added Robert.

“We’re trying to get a feel for where things are just now; we maybe think there’s a move towards shopping more at convenience stores rather than big supermarkets but it’s such early days to try and identify patterns from sales channels and demands across different dairy categories.”