Australian distillery is left with hundreds of bottles of sanitiser no one wants to buy because customers have switched to cheaper CHINESE alternatives
- FnQ Spirits owner Troy Read, 52, answered government calls to make sanitiser
- He spent thousands modifying his Cairns distillery in March to meet demand
- But when Chinese imports returned to shelves sanitiser sales abruptly dropped
- His product was once flying off shelves but now he has more than 400 bottles
- Mr Read is concerned about Australia's reliance on imports over local businesses
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
An Australian distillery has been left with hundreds of bottles of sanitiser after customers switched to buying a cheaper Chinese alternative.
FnQ Spirits owner Troy Read, 52, was one of a handful of distillers that answered government calls to switch their production lines in mid-March as the coronavirus crisis took hold.
Thousands of dollars were spent modifying his Cairns distillery to make more sanitiser to meet the market.
But sales abruptly dropped when imports returned to shelves last month, leaving the local business owner with more than 400 bottles of sanitiser and no buyers.
FnQ Spirits owner Troy Read, 52, (pictured) has been left with more than 400 bottles of sanitiser after customers quickly shifted to buying Chinese alternatives when they returned to shelves
'The government was ringing asking us to make it because they couldn't get it to our health services, let alone everyone else, but as soon as the product comes back in, the local stuff doesn't matter anymore,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'We jumped in on the bandwagon to help the community.
'Then the Chinese imports start coming in and it is just sitting here. Everyone forgets the people here that were trying to help.'
As shelves were stripped bare of sanitiser amid the panic buying frenzy, Mr Read frequently had 50-metres queues trailing outside the distillery's door.
Demand was so high, he was forced to be selective to ensure supplies went to those in most need, such as medical staff and frontline workers.
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Mr Read also raised concerns that Chinese sanitisers sit on the low-end of the alcohol level requirement needed to be effective.
The effectiveness of alcohol-based hand sanitiser depends on the amount of alcohol in the solution, with Australian guidelines urging people to seek out concentrations of at least 60 per cent.
Mr Read has between 400 to 500 bottles of hand sanitiser (pictured) and a 500 litre tank full with more bottles orders pending
However, for a product to be approved as a World Health Organization formula it must contain 80 per cent ethanol or 75 per cent isopropyl alcohol.
'People are using this products thinking they are safe,' Mr Read said.
'But a lot of those products coming in do not meet the needs on sanitiser.'
'They are coming in at 60 per cent minimum alcohol, not 80 per cent. It is a good sanitiser but it is not a viral sanitiser.'
Mr Read said his concern was not being 'stuck with sanitiser', but the wider issue of Australia's over reliance on overseas imports at the expense of local businesses.
'This is not just about me, it is not just about sanitiser. It is about everyone who manufactures in Australia,' he said.
'We need to have local manufacturing. 'We need to support the people that are making local.
'My whole business is made on local suppliers, because I so believe we need to leave the money here in the town.'
'It just makes sense for me for the local footy club to be using a local sanitiser.
'Why would you not use a local product?'
FnQ Spirits is one of a handful of distilleries that were called on by the government to put sanitiser on their production line (pictured) as the coronavirus broke out in March
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