Fonterra FY26 Results: $9.69 Milk Price, $3.4bn Profit
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
More segregation of milk to different factories is a strong likelihood for Fonterra, says chairman John Wilson.
“With A2 part of the business proposal we have committed to, there is capital investment on our sites to segregate milk,” he says.
“The ability to take a small amount of milk on a site is really expensive as you change product mix, clean the plant, start again repacking -- it’s really expensive to do. So it’s likely, but not definite, that you will see more segregation [in future].
“The key driver is that 87% of your milk and mine goes into markets around the world where we pay a tariff greater than 10% -- often [over] 100% for a product. We don’t have easy access to the wealthy markets of the world where consumers think about making choice because they can afford choice.
“US, Europe, Korea, Japan, Canada all sit behind significant tariff barriers.
“In China, where we have a reasonable free trade agreement, consumers are wealthier; there about 40 million in Beijing and Shanghai. The GDP per capita in Beijing and Shanghai is equivalent to the Swiss GDP per capita. You have consumers there who truly can make a choice and have the luxury of choice.
“It will be market driven we are thinking; our mindset is changing and technology is assisting as well. There is likely to be more segregation than over the last 20 years, but it has to be consumer driven.”
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
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