Footage has emerged of a bizarre baby formula frenzy at an Australian supermarket – after dozens of ‘crazed shoppers’ were filmed frantically lining up to get their hands on new stock.
Stunned shopper Goksel Ada, from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, witnessed the bizarre occurrence at his local Woolworths supermarket in Auburn on Thursday [October 11].
The 33-year-old said it was like ‘seagulls fighting over chips’ when Woolworths staff began opening the boxes of baby formula, claiming that customers were ‘pushing and shoving’ each other while in the line.
The dad-of-three said he had never seen such a long queue in a supermarket, with at least 60 ‘crazed shoppers’ – including small children – excitedly lined up with baskets throughout the entire length of the aisle and around the corner.
Kebab shop owner Goksel said: “My wife and I were just out doing our grocery shopping at the local Woolworths when it all happened.
“We went to grab some things form the freezer when we saw all these Asian people lined up. We had no idea what was going on or why they were all in a big queue.
“She couldn’t even get them past them to grab things from the shelves, they were blocking everything. It was just all so bizarre.
“I thought there must be some special discount on toilet paper or something, as that was near where they were all lined up.
“Then I saw the huge crates of boxes with baby formula inside. Then I realised that’s what they were all there for.
“They couldn’t wait to get their hands on it. The staff member who was giving out the tins of formula had to ask them all to step back and come one at a time.
“You could see he was getting stressed out. It was nuts.
“They was a bit of a scuffle and they were all pushing each other to get to the front.
“I have no idea how they all knew the new stock arrived. They must have known where and what time the new boxes were coming.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It was unbelievable.”
Demand for foreign baby formula products in China have skyrocketed over the last decade, after locally-produced infant formula left six children dead and made more than 300,000 ill in 2008.
As a result, baby formula is a lucrative market for overseas buyers, with national newspaper reports revealing that one kilogram tins bought for up to AUD$35 [£19] in Australia were being resold to overseas consumers for around AUD$100 [£54].
And following a national shortage of infant formula in 2017, Australian supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths introduced a two-tin limit for shoppers in an effort to curb short stock supply.
But earlier this year, both supermarket chains announced that these restrictions were being significantly relaxed to eight tins of baby formula per customer.
A Woolworths spokesperson said: “After close consultation with key suppliers, we recently changed our formula tin limit as result of improved supply in the market.
“We continue to carefully monitor our on shelf availability, supply arrangements and feedback from customers following these changes.
“While we find the majority of customers only buy the product they need for their family, our store teams are vigilant and work hard to uphold tin limits.
“There haven’t been any transactions processed with more than eight tins of formula at our Auburn store.”
Watch the video below:
