What Would Synlait Be Worth to Fonterra or a2 Milk?
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
Yet KFCs all over Thailand use milk from New Zealand farms, thanks to a recent custom partnership.
The key ingredient used is a cooking cream, from milk that is powdered, and then shipped to the Netherlands to be processed.
This specialised product, created for KFC but now spreading to other restaurants, makes Portuguese egg tarts - a permanent dessert item on the chicken outlet's menu.
The egg tarts are just one example of Fonterra's somewhat invisible efforts in Thailand to move milk into the country through its food service division.
And KFC is but one of 9000 outlets Fonterra says it services in the kingdom.
