NZ dollar slumps on concern about exports after Fonterra food contamination scare
By Tina Morrison
Aug 5 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar slumped on concern a food contamination scare at Fonterra Cooperative
Group, the nation’s largest dairy company, will hit exports.
The kiwi fell to a month low of 76.99 US cents, and recently traded at 77.15 US cents from 78.31 cents at the New York
close and 78.87 cents at the 5pm market close in Wellington on Friday. The trade-weighted index dropped to 73.71 from
75.16 Friday.
The local currency slid after Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, said on Saturday it had found bacteria which
can cause botulism in some of its dairy products, prompting China and Russia to ban products. Dairy makes up about a
quarter of New Zealand’s export earnings.
“The kiwi has dropped a cent and a half in reaction so far because it has affected exports,” said Imre Speizer, senior
currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. “ Countries have suspended exports and the kiwi has had a knee jerk
reaction. Until we do some quantitative analysis on exactly what this means for the New Zealand economy, I can’t say how
much further the kiwi will go or not go.”
The contamination scare comes five years after the scandal in China over Sanlu Group, which was 43 percent owned by
Fonterra and whose milk was found to be laced with melamine. Fonterra revealed in September last year that traces of a
fertiliser additive known as DCD was found in some milk samples.
The local currency fell to 58.10 euro cents from 59.70 cents Friday and dropped to 50.49 British pence from 52.16 pence.
It slid to 76.40 yen from 78.50 yen and weakened to 86.48 Australian cents from 88.58 cents.
(BusinessDesk)