https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/04/16/why-south-africa-is-running-out-of-marmite

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Middle East & AfricaApr 16th 2022 edition

Marmageddon
Why South Africa is running out of Marmite

A ban on booze has led to parched throats and dry toast

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Apr 16th 2022

JOHANNESBURG

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"I AM DISTRAUGHT because I am about to finish my last jar," says
Irine Mboweni, a resident of Johannesburg and mother of two. "There
is no Marmite on the shelves and I do not know what to do." Amid the
many tragedies befalling the world, a shortage of glossy dark goo to
spread on bread is surely small beer. But not to the millions of
South Africans who, quite inexplicably, like the salty sludge and are
struggling to cope with the worst Marmite shortage since the end of
apartheid.

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The love-it-or-loathe-it spread, invented in Britain at the start of
the 20th century, is an extract of yeast. It is most commonly eaten
spread thinly on buttered toast, but it can also be used to add a
rich, vegan-friendly umami flavour to soups, stews and sauces.

In South Africa Marmite is indeed thinly spread. Shoppers first noted
shortages at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, when South
Africa banned alcohol sales in an attempt to free up beds in
hospitals that would otherwise be filled with tipsy drivers or
drunken brawlers. The ban had an unexpected consequence. With beer
sales on ice, South Africa's main breweries sharply reduced their
production. With much less lager fermenting in their vats, they were
also producing far less brewer's yeast, the beery by-product that is
the main ingredient of Marmite.

Through the course of the pandemic, South Africa imposed four
separate alcohol bans, each one of which dealt a blow to Marmite
production. Nine months since the lifting of the last prohibition,
production ought to have recovered, allowing shops to refill their
shelves. Yet it has not. When your correspondent recently walked the
aisles of 15 grocery stores in Johannesburg, 12 had no Marmite at
all. In the three remaining shops a total of just seven jars could be
found, of which three appear to have escaped purchase by hiding
behind jars of Bovril, a beef-based cousin of Marmite. The branch
manager of a large store in eastern Johannesburg says that deliveries
still dribble in but fly off the shelves in an instant.

That the shortage continues is because of another hiccup in the
supply chain. Pioneer Foods, the local manufacturer of Marmite,
reportedly said that its production has been slowed by a shortage of
sodium carbonate, which is used in the manufacturing process.
Muckraking by the Daily Maverick, a local paper better known for
exposing political scandals than for scrutinising sandwiches, found
that intermittent cuts in the water supply were also affecting the
country's only Marmite factory.

Perhaps, though, some good may yet emerge from South Africa's forced
diet of dry bread. In a country that is often divided along lines of
race or wealth, all boundaries are transcended by love (or hatred) of
Marmite. "Whether black or white, rich or poor, most South Africans
have a jar of Marmite in their cupboard," says Mrs Mboweni. Your
correspondent will neither confirm nor deny snagging Johannesburg's
last seven jars. Suffice it to say that Mrs Mboweni is no longer
short of sludge.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the
print edition under the headline "Marmageddon"

Reuse this contentThe Trust Project

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