Share of New Zealand milk dips below target set by co-op’s council.
Fonterra’s board and senior management have been urged by its farmers to do more to reverse its declining milk supply.
The supply issue is one of the key performance measures of Fonterra’s Co-operative Council that were not achieved in 2024, Co-operative Council chair John Stevenson said in his speech at the co-operative’s annual meeting in New Plymouth.
“Council is concerned to see further decline in Fonterra’s share of NZ milk collected to 78.1%, below the 79% target set,” he said.
The issue was also raised by farmers in general business.
One farmer questioned Fonterra’s rules around milk retention, asking if the rules are too rigid compared to other companies.
“I think there needs to be an urgency in retaining milk. If you want to see an example of that, you don’t need to look far to see what’s happening in Synlait.”
CEO Miles Hurrell said they have to something about it.
“The legislation that enabled us to happen enabled this to play out unfortunately. We believe there is a conversation that needs to happen in Wellington as well. Has DIRA run its course? We would argue that it has.”
He acknowledged that farmers will make their own choice and hopefully Fonterra is giving them a reason to stay based on its recent performance.
Another asked if was time for Fonterra to ask for the government’s help in reversing the decline of the wider dairy industry’s size.
Hurrell told him in order to have that conversation, the industry has to show it is prepared to be acting appropriately – which it has over the past few years.
“It aligns very clearly with the government’s ambitions to double exports by 2035. The conversations we have is that you can do that very clearly by supporting alternative industries but at the same time, you’ve got to back your winners and there’s no one better to back than the dairy industry.”
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