17 Apr 2014

Fonterra farmers in dark on China ban

3:16 pm on 17 April 2014

Fonterra dairy products at the centre of last year's botulism scare are still banned from entering China, but farmers have been kept in the dark.

The Ministry for Primary Industries has revealed Fonterra's whey powder concentrate and infant formula base powders remain suspended in the Chinese market.

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Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski

Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Ian Brown said the council only discovered the whey and infant powders were still banned this week and it is working on questions to put to the co-operative.

Fonterra's executives have made repeated public statements that both trust and trade in the key Chinese market had returned to normal. However, it has not provided Radio New Zealand with a response as yet.

Labour's Primary Industries spokesperson Damien O'Connor says this will be a major blow to farmer confidence in Fonterra.

Prime Minister John Key said the extent to which shareholders were aware restrictions were still in place is a matter for Fonterra, not the Government.

Mr Key said he did all he could on his recent trip to China to reassure officials and the Chinese public that whey and infant formula from New Zealand was safe.