A shortage of carbon dioxide is affecting multiple industries and despite government acknowledgement of the problem, many see no end in sight.
Some are increasingly critical about the lack of action taken over CO2 supply, with just two major companies distributing the gas - used by a number of sectors from wastewater treatment to food and beverage production.
"I think we need to be asking ourselves, do we want to be reliant long term on imported gas? We should be generating our own CO2 and capturing it," says Garage Project brewery co-founder Jos Rufell.
"It's a hugely frustrating situation we're in right now, we're in the peak of summer and we're having to make really hard decisions about what beer we can actually package," says Rufell.
Todd Energy says it's still working on "engineering solutions" for the issue that shut down their Taranaki plant, the only site producing food-grade CO2 in the country.
National Party MP Stuart Smith believes not enough action was taken over securing a stable domestic supply.
“When the Marsden Point refinery closed, the Government had plenty of time to do something about it and have a look at what the options were to shore up our supply chains for products like dry ice,” says Smith.
Dry ice, carbon dioxide frozen into its solid form, is used to keep freight chilled, and one transport business told 1News it's having to reuse what comes in with overseas orders.
The Government says they are aware of the current shortage and are in talks with affected industries, including investigating the feasibility of another site for domestic production.
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