Fonterra Settles Greenpeace Claim Over Anchor Butter Labelling
A day after selling its consumer businesses, Fonterra has settled a civil claim, filed by Greenpeace, out of court.
Just two weeks after slashing its forecast milk price mid-point by $1, Fonterra has shaved another 25c off.
The new forecast farmgate milk price range is $6/kgMS to $7.50/kgMS, with a new mid-point of $6.75/kgMS.
Fonterra chef executive Miles Hurrell says Global Dairy Trade (GDT) prices have continued to fall since it revised its Farmgate Milk Price earlier this month, requiring the co-op to reduce its midpoint by a further 25 cents.
“GDT prices have fallen sharply since we released our opening forecast for the season in May, with the overall index down 16% over that period.
“While our wide forecast range assumed movement in GDT prices, whole milk powder prices fell 10.9% in the most recent trading event requiring us to revise our position again.
“Reduced demand from key importing regions for whole milk powder is weighing on prices. While indications are demand will start to return over the second half of FY24, we do expect the pace of demand growth to be subdued relative to initial expectations.”
Fonterra will continue to respond to market signals and adjust its forecast farmgate milk price to ensure that the impact of current prices and currency movements is transparent, says Hurrell.
“This is a challenging time for New Zealand’s dairy farmers and the co-op is doing all it can to support its farmers,” says Hurrell.
With arable farmers heading into the busy planting season, increasing fuel and fertiliser prices, driven by the Iranian conflict, are a daily and ongoing concern.
OPINION: After two long years of hardship, things are looking up for New Zealand red meat farmers.
A casualty of the storm that hit the Bay of Plenty recently was the cancelation of a field day at a leading Māori kiwifruit orchard at Te Puke.
Michael Wentworth has joined the team at Mission Estate Winery, filling the "big shoes" of former Chief Executive Peter Holley, who resigned in September last year, after almost 30 years running the storied Napier venue.
Some arable farmers are getting out of arable and converting to dairy in the faced of soaring fuel and fertiliser prices on top of a very poor growing season.
The New Zealand seed industry has reached a significant milestone with the completion and approval of the new seed certification system.