Just three weeks ago, the world’s largest dairy exporter had already raised its milk price to $6/kg (31 c/l) following an increase in the value of sales at its GDT auctions for the previous months.

This puts the New Zealand price ahead of the Irish price again, with the vast majority of the Irish spring-calving herd now dried off. However, speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal last week, Dairygold’s chief executive Jim Woulfe forecast an average base price for 2017 of between 31c/l to 33c/l including VAT.

Additional dividend

Fonterra chair John Wilson said the additional dividend would be based on earnings per share forecast of NZ$0.50c to NZ$0.60c. Fonterra’s policy is to pay out 65% to 75% of the adjusted net profit after tax, and he announced at the meeting that this year’s dividend would be NZ$0.40c/share once retentions are taken out.

Fonterra also announced the launch of new premium Anchor products in China, featuring two UHT products. The Upline range includes LiveUp, a high protein milk with 50% more protein than standard UHT, and NaturalUP, made from certified fresh organic New Zealand milk.

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Fonterra jumps ahead of Irish milk price

Fonterra has announced at its annual meeting in Darfield that the indicative milk price payout for this season will be increased to $6.40/kg milk solids (33 c/l).