New Zealand Marmite lovers hating shortage
New Zealand is fast running out of its favourite breakfast food, Marmite, according to local media.
Reports indicate that Sanitarium Health Food Co, whose Christchurch factory made 640,000 kg of marmite annually, was badly hurt by the earthquakes last year.
Production was halted in November 2011 and Sanitarium said it would not resume its manufacturing lines until July 2012 at the earliest.
In a statement, the company urged its consumers to conserve their supplies of the spread made with yeast extract and not create a shortage by panic-buying after the company shipped out its final supplies.
The company reiterated that this was no marketing ploy and it is a genuine problem.
Marmite was first made in England in 1902 but has been manufactured in New Zealand since 1919 and is considered an integral part of the country's consumption culture.
