A U.S. military plane bringing several tons of much-needed baby formula from Germany landed on Sunday at an airport in Indiana as authorities scramble to address a critical shortage.

Scarcity of medical-grade baby formula caused by production problems and supply-chain issues has created grave problems for thousands of parents whose infants rely on it, sending them in frantic searches for the product.

The cargo plane took off from the U.S. air base at Ramstein, Germany, carrying more than 70,000 pounds (nearly 32 tonnes) of powdered formula, the White House said.

The formula was flown to Indiana because it is a hub for Nestle, a major domestic producer. It will be quality-tested at a nearby lab before being distributed.

The first shipment will cover about 15 percent of the immediate need, presidential economics advisor Brian Deese said on CNN.

U.S. President Joe Biden tweeted later Sunday that a second flight to transport Nestle specialty infant formula to Pennsylvania has been secured.

The formula shortage has been developing for months, aggravated not only by supply-chain issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic but by the closing of the largest U.S. formula-making plant, a Michigan factory owned by Abbott Laboratories, amid concerns that contamination may have led to the deaths of two infants.

As the baby food sector is controlled by two companies, Abbott and the Reckitt-owned Mead Johnson, which dominate three-quarters of the market by sales, a sudden disruption can trigger a crisis and hurt consumers.

Several other sectors in the U.S. are oligopolies and have witnessed disruptions over the past two years due to COVID-19 and supply-chain issues, according to business-focused media outlet Quartz's report.

The U.S. antitrust rules have been ineffective at preventing monopolies that hurt consumers, which has been acknowledged by the Biden administration.

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U.S. antitrust rules fail to prevent monopolies that hurt consumers: report

(With input from AFP)