Synlait is 'Burning Cash, Not Creating Value'
OPINION: Synlait's latest half-year result reveals a serious problem at the heart of the business: its core operations are no longer bringing in enough revenue to cover the cost of production.
Synlait Milk has received MPI approval of its risk management programme at its dry blending and consumer packaging plant.
The approval enables Synlait Milk to now pack and export retail-ready product from its manufacturing site, having met the New Zealand food safety requirements of the Animal Products Act 1999.
The only exception is for exports of finished infant formula to China. Documentation required to support Synlait Milk's application for registration as an exporter of finished infant formula to China was sent to the Chinese regulatory body today by MPI.
Synlait managing director John Penno says it's a major milestone towards meeting customer demand for total product integrity from grass to glass.
"Today is an important day for our business. We now have an integrated facility on one site that gives us full manufacturing control and delivers on the needs of consumers looking for nutritious and safe food," says Penno.
"The packaging plant provides further support for our value added strategy of supplying high quality finished infant formula and nutritional products to our customers.
"We look forward with confidence to working with authorities in New Zealand and China to achieve registration as soon as possible."
The sophisticated packaging plant was built in nine months at a cost of $28.5 million and is the only one of its kind in the South Island, New Zealand. It has a processing capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes per annum, or around 33 million 900 gram cans of powder.
Winning four of the big categories at the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards feels special, says Meyer Cheese general manager Miel Meyer.
Local cheesemakers are being urged to embrace competition from imports but also ensure their products are never invisible in the country.
Ireland's Minister of state for Agriculture says it’s hard to explain to Irish farmers the size and scale of NZ farms.
Dairy farming in New Zealand offers career progression and this has motivated 2026 Central Plateau Share Farmers of the Year Navdeep Singh and Jobanpreet Kaur.
A partnership between Canterbury milk processor Synlait and the world's largest food producer, Nestlé, has been celebrated with a visit to a North Canterbury farm by a group including senior staff from Synlait, the Ravensdown subsidiary EcoPond, and Nestlé's Switzerland head office.
Canterbury milk processor Synlait is blaming what it calls "a perfect storm" of setbacks for a big loss in its half year result for the six months ended January 31, 2026.

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