Open Country opens butter plant
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
Farmer suppliers will be paid in full this month.
The price is 2c above last season's average milk price of $9.35/kgMS, a record payout by Open Country.
The company, which pays suppliers in full via four instalments during the year, paid $10.06/kgMS as January settlement period and $9.84/kgMS in May.
Open Country chief executive Steve Koekemoer says a string of very strong milk prices is testament of the way the business has performed.
"The business has performed extremely well and this is shown in our milk payments to farmers."
Global dairy prices have receded in recent months and Koekemoer says demand has been weaker than anticipated.
Demand in China expected to bounce back from Covid lockdowns, prices should come back.
"We anticipate prices to rise in the medium term," he says.
