Make the right decision, Peters urges Fonterra farmers
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters is ratcheting up pressure on Fonterra farmers as they vote on divesting the co-operative’s consumer and related businesses.
The co-op opened a $36 million plant at Cikarang last year; up to 87,000 packs of the co-op's Anlene, Anmum and Anchor Boneeto dairy brands are packed there each day.
Prime Minister John Key visited the plant last week during an official tour of Indonesia. With him were Indonesia's Deputy Minister of National Development Planning, Gellwynn Daniel Hamzah Jusuf; New Zealand Minister of Trade, Todd McClay; Fonterra's chief operating officer of farm source, Miles Hurrell; and the president director of Fonterra Brands Indonesia, Achyut Kasireddy.
Kasireddy says NZ and Indonesia have shared a positive relationship for 65 years and Fonterra has flown the NZ flag in Indonesia for at least 30 years.
"Our investment in this site allows us to produce more high quality dairy nutrition to meet Indonesians' increasing demand for dairy.
"At the same time, as a dairy cooperative owned by farmers, we are looking to help grow the Indonesian dairy industry by working with local dairying communities to help up-skill farmers through our Fonterra Dairy Scholarship programme, now in its fourth year," says Kasireddy.
Several farmer alumni from the Fonterra Dairy Scholarship programme told the delegation of their experiences during the 12 month courses, run with the Indonesian directorate-general of livestock farming. They learn best-practice farming techniques during farm training in Indonesia and during a 12-week visit to NZ.
The delegation toured the factory, tasted dishes created by a Fonterra chef and learned about the co-op's consumer brands.
