Managing Director Sofwan Ahmed of MHA, the company that imports the highest amount of baby formula, has stated that they have reintroduced baby formula to the market in a time where there is a shortage in Maldives.

The public has expressed their dissatisfaction on various social media platforms over the week due to a lack of baby formula. Some people expressed concern as they have not been able to get baby formula in Maldives for over a month.

The Managing Director of the company that imports baby formula such as Lactogen, NAN, Ceregrow and Cerelac told Mihaaru News that the issue of bringing baby formula back to the market was due to them seeking permission after issuing label changes to the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA).

MFDA guidelines state that health food products for children in Maldives can only be imported by obtaining special permission from the "Dhirithi" portal. If the label or packaging of the products sees any change, the changes need to be submitted to the MFDA as well.

MHA brought out the part of the shipment that was brought to Maldives two weeks ago into the market yesterday with collaboration from MFDA. Sofwan said the rest of the shipment will be put on the market today.

MHA imports these products to Maldives, with ADK Trading importing the rest of the formula.

"Small supplier changes need to be flagged to MFDA as well. Maldives' regulation requires re-registration if the country of origin, the size of the bottle and such sees changes. A lot of data is needed for that," said Sofwan.

Importing such products is a hard task due to MFDA's guidelines.