KUALA LUMPUR – When media executive Angie Ng went grocery shopping in Kuala Lumpur in early April, she was surprised to find her usual brand of milk missing.

The 51-year-old, who regularly buys two-litre bottles of Farm Fresh milk for her family of three, was met with empty shelves where the product is usually stocked.

“I was shocked,” she told The Straits Times, relating how she left the store empty-handed.

Her experience, echoed in some social media posts, offers a stark look at how the Middle East conflict is rattling Malaysian supply chains at the consumer level. The shortage stems not from a lack of milk, but from disruptions far upstream.

In response, local dairy brand Farm Fresh – which also exports to Singapore – has been quick to clarify that it is not running out of milk.

Instead, the issue lies in packaging: specifically, a shortage of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin that is widely used for beverage bottles, food containers, packaging and other household-related items.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has throttled global oil and gas flows, triggering a shortage of PET resin that is primarily derived from petrochemicals, specifically crude oil and natural gas.

For Farm Fresh, which manufactures a range of dairy products from fresh milk to ice cream, the resin is essential for producing its signature one- and two-litre plastic milk bottles.

Farm Fresh’s chief operating officer Azmi Zainal said the impact is already being felt across operations.

“There is indeed a real impact from this Iran war, the most obvious is, of course, petroleum, especially diesel for industry, for example for boilers. (Diesel) now has to be purchased at current market prices,”...