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.
NEW YORK management consultant McKinsey is being used by Fonterra to help rebuild the brand after the botulism contamination scare in August – a false alarm.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says it is too early to comment on what the financial impacts of that scare will be on the cooperative “but as soon as we know the markets will know”.
New chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini says the only contingency provision on the books at this stage is $14 million for the 2012/13 year. Spierings says this was to deal with some of the initial impacts.
Meanwhile, Spierings says they have been working with McKinsey because they are world-class in rebuilding reputation after events such as this. Spierings will be back in China in late October as part of that rebuild. A plan is now laid to begin restoring the co-op’s reputation and to lift it to a new level, also considering customers, the public and government, Spierings says.
Fonterra chairman John Wilson told Rural News that when the board’s review of the food safety recall is complete it will hold a Sky broadcast for Fonterra farmers to brief them on key findings. The board is doing its own review in addition to the now-completed operational review at management level, and the ministerial inquiry.
“We are looking at what happened, how it was dealt with and most importantly we are looking at what the lessons are from that – what we can do in the future.
“What is critical is what comes out of this… the way we operate and are we operating right for the next century? This is about what tomorrow looks like rather than what yesterday looked like.
“The review is looking at operating platforms and behaviour on top of those operating platforms – how we operate as people, how we deal with science and, importantly, how we look across the entire supply chain.
“New Zealand is in this great position where we are respected widely and globally for being producers of high quality product off our farms, with good science and good regulation.
“We’ve got to have a look and ask, ‘is this best-in-class for the next century?’. That to me is the critical thing we must do over the next few months. It is not about trying to deal with it all today, it’s about being thoughtful.”
Two butcheries have claimed victory at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards for 2025.
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
The Climate Change Commission’s 2025 emissions reduction monitoring report reveals steady progress on the reduction of New Zealand’s climate pollution.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The Government’s directive for state farmer Landcorp Farming (trading as Pamu) to lifts its performance is yielding results.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
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