Fresh cream shortage due to heat

[Anchor]

As the heatwave continues, crude oil production has also decreased, leading to a crisis in the supply of fresh cream.

Local bakeries are going out to find fresh cream to match the opening hours of supermarkets, while some convenience stores have reduced the variety of cream bread.

Reporter Kim Chae-rin has the story.

[Report]

At a dessert shop in Seoul, they have recently started mixing a small amount of whipped cream, a substitute for fresh cream, into some desserts.

Fresh cream is used in 70% of their products, but it has become difficult to obtain fresh cream this month.

[Dessert shop owner: "I set an alarm for when it arrives, but by the time I go to buy it, it's already sold out. People order it quickly."]

There was a time when they bought fresh cream that used to cost around 5,000 won for 500ml for 20,000 won.

[Dessert shop owner: "Since customers buy cakes to celebrate on that day, even if it means a loss, we have to provide it."]

They also visit supermarkets to match the opening hours, but it often runs out quickly.

[Bakery owner/voice altered: "(When the supermarket) opens, we go early to check every day. If there’s even one or two (fresh creams), we buy them."]

Some shops have temporarily closed due to the inability to obtain fresh cream.

The average daily milk production of the Seoul Dairy Cooperative has decreased from 1,940 tons last month to 1,810 tons this month, a 7% drop in just one month.

The industry attributes this to the early arrival of the heatwave compared to normal years.

[Dairy industry official/voice altered: "The Holstein breed, which produces milk, is sensitive to heat, and due to the prolonged heatwave, milk production is rapidly decreasing."]

As the supply of raw materials decreases, the supply of fresh cream, which is lower in production priority than milk and processed milk, has also been reduced.

In one convenience store, they stopped ordering two out of five popular new cream bread products starting last weekend.

This is due to the instability in the supply of fresh cream.

The industry is concerned that as the heatwave continues, the production of other processed products like milk and butter may also be disrupted.

This is KBS News, Kim Chae-rin.