The Ministry of Agriculture says there may be a case for extending the regulations that came into force when Fonterra was created in 2001, to provide competition in the dairy industry.
MAF makes the suggestion in a consultation document on the future of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act, which among other things, requires Fonterra to provide milk to independent processors at a formulated price.
The Act was never intended to be permanent and was designed to expire once the amount of milk collected and processed by other companies reached a certain level.
Agriculture Minister, David Carter, says that threshold is likely to be reached in the next couple of years.
