Lactalis in front to acquire Fonterra’s Australian dairy assets after ACCC clearance
The world's largest dairy company may be in pole position to acquire Fonterra's Australian assets.
Fonterra says its new processing plants have helped process more than 86.9 million litres of milk on the co-op's biggest day of the year – October 22.
Managing director global operations, Robert Spurway, says the additional capacity has given the co-op more options in its product mix.
"Getting the most out of large volumes comes down to having the capacity to process every drop of our farmers' milk while also striking the right balance between our ingredients and foodservice capabilities.
"This season we've been able to bring new plants online to drive greater value into both of these parts of the business," says Spurway.
A new dryer at Pahiatua and three plants at Edendale came online in August, delivering more capacity and operational efficiency in milk powders, while a new mozzarella plant at Clandeboye has doubled the co-op's capacity for one of its most in-demand foodservice products.
"We now have more options around how and where we process our milk meaning we can prioritise milk into higher margin products," says Spurway.
This also better equips Fonterra to satisfy growing and diversifying customer demand, while also being more responsive to changing market trends, he says.
To ensure milk is always directed to the products that will deliver the best returns for farmer shareholders, Fonterra reviews its product mix and priorities every 24 hours according to market demand, incoming milk volumes, product value and costs such as transport and logistics.
Further expansion is currently underway at Fonterra sites in Lichfield and Eltham to add a new milk powder dryer and slice-on-slice cheese lines respectively, with these new developments on track to be up and running in time for the 2016 peak.
New Zealand milk production is off to a strong start, with the first month of the 2025/26 dairy season recording a whopping 17.8% jump in milk production, compared to the previous season.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
Keep up with innovation and e-commerce in China or risk losing market share. That was the message delivered at the China Business Summit in Auckland this month.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) independent chair Nathan Guy says getting meat processors involved has been a shot in the arm for the sector's key marketing initiative into China, Taste Pure Nature.
Listed carpet manufacturer, Bremworth is undertaking a $6 million expansion at its Napier plant more than two years after the site was heavily damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Federated Farmers is vowing to keep the big banks accountable for their actions and to continue pushing for meaningful change in the rural lending sector.
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