Strong Milk Price Boosts PGG Wrightson Earnings
Strong farmgate milk price is helping boost investment on farms, says PGG Wrightson chief executive Stephen Guerin.
LIvestock firms PGG Wrightson, Elders New Zealand (Carrfields) and Rural Livestock are facing claims of price fixing by Commerce Commission.
The commission is the country’s competition regulatory agency. On its website it describes its purpose as, “…enforcing legislation that promotes competition in NZ markets and prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct by traders”.
It claims that the three livestock firms fixed fees charged during the implementation of the NAIT national livestock tagging scheme. Its consumer protection authority is investigating fees charged during the adoption of the scheme.
A spokesman for the commission says it will file proceedings against the three companies and five undisclosed individuals before the end of July.
In a statement to Rural News the commission said: “The commission can confirm that its investigation into alleged price fixing by NZ livestock companies is in its final stages. The commission expects to file proceedings against PGG Wrightson, Elders New Zealand and Rural Livestock Ltd and five individuals by the end of July. We cannot comment further at this time.”
Last week PGG Wrightson advised that the commission believed it had breached the Commerce Act over how it charged fees during the scheme’s implementation.
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.
More of the same please, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Karl Dean when asked about who should succeed Miles Hurrell as Fonterra chief executive.
A Waikato farmer who set up a 'tinder' for cows - using artificial intelligence to find the perfect bull for each cow - days the first-year results are better than expected.
Fonterra says it's keeping an eye on the Middle East crisis and its implications for global supply chains.
The closure of the McCain processing plant and the recent announcement of 300 job losses at Wattie’s underscore the mounting pressure facing New Zealand’s manufacturing sector, Buy NZ Made says.