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.
However, access is improving and the co-operative will be making fresh attempts to collect milk from these farms in the coming days.
Paul Phipps, general manager national transport & logistics told Rural News that they are still unable to safely access a number of farms mostly in Northland.
“Many roads are significantly disrupted and ensuring the safety of our tanker operators and other teams is paramount.
“Access is improving however and we were able to get to more farms in Northland last night. The situation is still challenging though.”
On the Coromandel Peninsula, access is still severely restricted given the state of the roads there.
Today the co-operative will be attempting collection from all suppliers in the region.
“Trucks will be going up without trailers to give us the best possible chance to access farms,” says Phipps.
In the Hawkes Bay, Fonterra has been unable to collect milk from the majority of farms north of Waipukurau.
“Our transport team is working closely with local authorities to assess road conditions,” says Phipps.
“We are doing everything we can to minimise the impact and are working through the logistics.
“Aside from collections, one of the biggest challenges we are facing is pressure on the supply chain as the knock on effects of closed ports and rail put a squeeze on what is already a highly strained national network.”
