The results from the January trading event of Fonterra’s internet-based sales platform, globalDairyTrade, has reflected a continued softening in international dairy prices. The trading manager, CRA International, advised Fonterra that the average price achieved across all products and contract periods for Whole Milk Powder (WMP) was US$2,017 per tonne FAS New Zealand Port - 9.3 per cent lower than for the previous trading event in December. Spot prices rose 1.3 per cent above those for the... ...Read more »

A new report has discovered that, since 1991-92, Australian dairy farmers have improved performance and productivity by continuing to change their management practices and adopt various new technologies. The findings are contained in the report, Australian Dairy industry: use of technology and management practices on dairy farms, 1991-92 to 2006-07, released last week by ABARE Executive Director, Phillip Glyde. Results from a survey conducted by ABARE (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource... ...Read more »

After a record 2008 year, The Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory are predicting a  decline in 2009 earnings. Substantial slumps in world dairy prices over recent months have been the main contributor to the WCB’s pessimistic outlook. Cheddar prices have fallen as much as 35-40%, with skim milk powder and butter  at 40-45%  and  35-40%. These changing commodity prices reflect a stark contrast to the record high commodity pricesexperienced throughout the 2008 financial year. WCB’s... ...Read more »

The takeover of Dairy Farmers by Kirin subsidiary National Foods was officially completed on Tuesday, with the cheese joint venture between National Foods and Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) expected to begin operation early next year. Dairy Farmers Chairman Ian Langdon, who along with other directors will resign from the Dairy Farmers Board today, said the $910m acquisition of the business by National Foods stood to have a positive impact on Dairy Farmers’ shareholders as well as the... ...Read more »

The purchase of Dairy Farmers by National Foods will be implemented next week after receiving court approval today… Australian Co-operative Foods Limited (ACF), which trades as Dairy Farmers, today announced that the National Foods offer to acquire all of the shares in the Co-operative had been approved by the New South Wales Supreme Court. National Foods won shareholder approval last week for their $910 million proposal. ACF Chairman Ian Langdon said the court’s approval of the scheme... ...Read more »

The 11 cents per litre levy on fresh milk is to be scrapped following the passing of the Dairy Adjustment Levy Termination Bill 2008 through the Senate yesterday. The levy was established by the Howard Government in 2000 to fund an adjustment package for the dairy industry as it moved through deregulation. Around $240 million a year has been collected through the levy, to provide payments to around 13,000 dairy businesses over eight years. “The move to terminate the Dairy Adjustment Levy has... ...Read more »

Australian Co-operative Foods Limited (ACF), which trades as Dairy Farmers, and National Foods today announced that ACF members had approved the acquisition proposal by National Foods. On August 25 Dairy Farmers announced that National Foods had outbid other interested parties, with their $910 million offer. The deal involved a joint venture with Warrnambool Cheese and Butter for the cheese business of Dairy Farmers. National Foods have also since come to an arrangement to allow Fonterra to acquire... ...Read more »

TNS Worldpanel, global market leader in consumer purchasing information, today announced that although China’s dairy market was hit by sales spiralling downwards, there are many winners emerging from the melamine scandal. The criminal contamination of milk products in China led to the tragic deaths of four babies as well as causing over 54,000 infants to fall ill and has seen food standards bodies worldwide test and assess the safety of dairy products from China. For international dairy brands,... ...Read more »

Fonterra, which owns 43 per cent of Sanlu - the company at the centre of the melamine scandal in China, has denied reports it is looking to sell its stake, according to ABC Online. News reports have suggested the New Zealand dairy co-operative has been in talks to sell its share of the company in the wake of the scandal which has led to the death of four babies and the illness of about 54,000 infants. It has been considered a “criminal contamination”, with over 20 people arrested for... ...Read more »

Consumer interest in beverages and food produced without toxic chemical pesticides, synthetic hormones, artificial ingredients, antibiotics or preservatives have turned the United States into the world’s largest market for organic products. The organic beverage market remains rather small, Beverage Marketing Corporation’s new ‘Organic Beverages in the U.S.’ report reveals, but it enjoys fierce growth and an expanding presence in mainstream retail outlets.Indeed, the organic... ...Read more »