After a week of severe flour shortages impacting bakeries, caterers, restaurants and small food businesses in Nuku'alofa, it’s back to business as normal today with the arrival of new flour supplies this week.

It's the second time in the last 15 months that flour has run out in Tonga.

Bread supply was short this week at both major bakeries in Tongatapu, Cowley Bakery and the Ha’amoko Bakery.

Importer A. Cowley & Sons Ltd., running the Cowley bakery chain, is the sole distributor for FMF flour in Tonga. Punjas are the sole distributor for Punjas flour. Chinese wholesalers also import other brands of flour.

Alfred Cowley, owner of A. Cowley & Sons Ltd., told Matangi Tonga today that the shortage of flour was due to the delay in arrival of three of the main ships that service Tonga.

“Usually only one ship would be delayed and the other two would be on time. But this time all three vessels were delayed," he said. “The shortage was only for a week, baking is back to normal now.”

No shipments

The Consumer Affairs Division of the Ministry of Commerce and Labour said today that no shipments of flour arrived in Tonga in the months of June and July.

Kennedy Penitani, owner of Ha’amoko Bakery told Matangi Tonga that his bakery had stopped selling bread since Monday because of the shortage of flour but said operations were back to normal today.

In May last year, Nuku’alofa experienced a shortage of flour also due to shipping delays.