Record final milk price for Miraka suppliers
Farmers supplying milk to Taupo-based processor Miraka are getting a 2024-25 season base milk price of $10.16/kgMS.
Kingi Smiler, chairman of the Maori dairy company Miraka, which won the inaugural Maori Excellence in Export award He kai kei aku ringa, is proud of what his company has achieved in such a short time.
The award was presented to Miraka by the Minister for Maori Development, Te Ururoa Flavell, at the New Zealand Business Awards in Auckland recently.
Smiler says to receive such an award so early in the history of a company is very pleasing. The company was formally opened in late 2011 and sells product into 23 countries including China and Vietnam, and markets in South America and the Middle East.
It has about 100 local suppliers and produces milk powder and UHT milk.
Smiler says Miraka has great people who work well together, applying good skill sets across the business. The team has been very focused on achieving its results.
“We are pleased at our progress. Certainly we are ahead of plan and that is very positive,” he told Rural News. “Naturally, we are going through a tough cycle at the moment, but we are in good shape.
“It’s been a great opportunity to lead the way in a challenging industry dominated in New Zealand by Fonterra. To be able to be benchmarked and perform at a high level and achieve the success we have had to date is very pleasing.”
Presenting the award, Te Ururoa Flavell praised the efforts of Miraka, saying it is the first company in the world to use renewable electricity and steam to process milk powder.
Flavell says the price premium Miraka pays its milk suppliers has seen an extra $5 million injected into the local rural economy over three years.
When dairy manager Miriam Lauridsen learned the farm, she was joining held weekly health and safety meetings, she initially thought that was “a bit over the top”. Experiencing that culture changed her mind.
Nominations are open for the 2027 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year Award.
Keeping up with pasture moisture demands is likely to be the key challenge for dairy farmers during this season’s El Niño weather pattern, says Blue Skies Weather & Climate Services meteorologist Tony Trewinnard.
Farmers have until the end of this week to help shape DairyNZ’s future focus.
Wayne McNee, chief executive of AgriZeroNZ, has resigned and will leave the organisation on 15 January 2027.
The New Zealand dairy sector set a record in the 2025/26 season, producing more than two billion kilograms of milksolids for the first time.

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