Fonterra rejects calls for inquiry into milk prices

12/04/2011 1:28:05 p.m.

Luke wrote:

It is very hard to even find the budget house brand milk in the milk section at the supermarket. I am all for free market forces. But the problem here is this is a government allowed monopoly. The international benefit that Fonterra have because of this market dominance needs to be addressed, how about cost priced milk for the New Zealand consumer. That should be a fair price Fonterra could pay for the allowance that they can continue on as the worlds largest Dairy company.

27/03/2011 12:38:47 p.m.

Upset Farmer wrote:

For a start Fonterra is not as much of a monoply as people say. They only have about 70% of the milk market. Fonterra is an export co-op not just for the local domestic market. That is what the other companies that set up are surpose to do. What is worse is that the other companies take milk at wholesale rates from Fonterra at the expence of the co-op. What is the real problem here is not the price of milk as I did read somewhere that milk if buying the supermarket brands is just as cheap as before Fonterra was formed. No what the real problem is, is that the general public can't share in the wealth of this co-op as is the biggest company in NZ. If it was a public company I don't think there would be the same up roar as then if people wanted a share of it they could. But as it is only farmers own the company.
What people need to sit up & think about is that if dairy ( agriculture in general) colapsed this contry would VERY likely become a third world contry almost overnight. Because where would the Gross National income come from?? We don't have any other big export earner like the dairy industry. If you don't want to pay high milk prices shop around you don't have to buy the branded products. Milk is milk it all comes from the same place (COWS)so the budget branded milks IMO is just as good as the branded milk. So leave us dairy farmers alone!! You should be thanking us! WE are the ones that keep this country going FOR our fellow country men.

26/03/2011 11:13:41 p.m.

ex farmer wrote:

Kelly, you are the epitome of the ignorance shown by those who have no idea what they are talking about..fonterra was founded wholy by the farmers, the fonterra workers are very well paid, fonterra is already forced to sell milk to rival companies at a reduced rate, and they then turn around and make products to export as well, so plainly there is no money in selling fresh milk or they would be doing it.
Ryan, the milk price wars in aussie are called loss leaders, theres been much talk about this, in NZ the most common loss leader in supermarkets is beer.
As for the cries to reintroduce tarrifs of any description, that won't happen, the country can't afford it, the wages paid in NZ are not fonterra's concern apart from what they pay their own workers.
I'm totally sick of fonterra being painted as a villian, the donations made after the latest big quake in chch prove without a doubt that they are not, they also gave to the floods in aussie, but all that "good news" is swept under the carpet in the rant and rave of people who somehow think budget milk is inferior.