Natrel Is No Longer Taking Unsold Milk Following The Loss Of An Important Client

Several articles and features in the media have recently reported that following the refusal of large dairy companies to take back the unsold milk in effect since last spring, the Quebec Chinese Convenience Stores Association (QCCSA) has threatened to encourage its members to stop selling milk.

According to the Journal de Montréal, the thousand members of the QCCSA are getting highly frustrated by the very low profit margins on these products.

Managing milk stocks is getting more and more difficult, says Yaping Xing, manager of the convenience store Le Polyvalent in Charlesbourg. In the Capitale-Nationale region, asian store owners are now operating almost half of all depanneurs. “It’s become too complicated. I have to prepare the orders for the next week before I know how much I sold. ” She says milk is a highly unpredictable product. – Journal of Montreal

As a result of this article, several reports (here, here and here) echoed reactions from convenience store owners, most feeling that it is simply not realistic for a convenience store to stop selling milk.

Since last May, the large dairy companies stopped taking back the unsold milk. Agropur (Natrel) refuses to comment publicly on this practice. At Parmalat (Lactantia), a spokeswoman confirmed the news, adding that there was matter to precision. – La Terre de Chez-Nous

DepQuébec has learned that this decision followed the loss by Natrel of a large contract worth tens of millions of dollars that went to Parmalat and whose policy has never been, presumably, to take back the unsold milk.

As a result, and in the face of such a decline in volume, Natrel would have decided to follow suit at Parmalat.

However, DepQuébec has also learned that Natrel continues to take back unsold inventories for certain categories of customers, including dairy distributors and food service chains.