Battle for milk
OPINION: Fonterra may be on the verge of selling its consumer business in New Zealand, but the co-operative is not keen on giving any ground to its competitors in the country.
It appears many dairy company competitors of Fonterra are worried that some of the proposed changes to the DIRA regulations will give the country’s largest dairy co-op an unfair advantage over them.
OCD, majority owned by the Talley family, claims that allowing Fonterra to pay a different farmgate milk price to shareholders, will enable the dairy co-op to: “pay an anti-competitive farmgate milk price in regions with the most competition, while paying lower prices to farmers in less competitive regions”.
The Hound notes that the Talleys and the NZ First party (who have been vocal in their criticism of Fonterra) have had a very close association over the years. Meantime, Parliament’s primary production select committee is scheduled to report back on the DIRA Bill next February. Keep an eye out for that one.
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