CORRECT: Open Country Dairy cuts milk payout below Fonterra's forecast
(Corrects story that ran on Monday Jan. 18, fixes ANZ current price estimate in third graph)
By Edwin Mitson
Jan. 18 (BusinessDesk) - Open Country Dairy, New Zealand's second largest dairy processor, has reduced its milk payout
by 30 cents to an average price of between $4.00-$4.30 per kilogramme of milk solids.
Chairman Laurie Margrain told BusinessDesk the revision reflected the company's view on the market at present, and that
suppliers were notified last week. In September, Fonterra lifted its forecast total payout for the 2015/16 season by 75
cents to $4.60/kgMS, and affirmed that view in December.
ANZ Bank New Zealand expects Fonterra to reduce its 2015/16 milk price forecast and thinks it will come in at the bottom
end of a price range of $4.25-$4.50/kgMS. In an economic note to clients, ANZ said the move by Open Country highlighted
the direction of risk in the industry. It says Fonterra's year-to-date price is close to $4/kgMS for the 2015/2016
season.
Open Country's revision comes ahead of a GlobalDairyTrade auction on Tuesday in the US, which is expected to show a
small decline, as indicated by weaker whole milk powder and skim milk powder prices on the NZX futures market, according
to OMF dealer Michael Peters.
(BusinessDesk)