21 Aug 2008

Fonterra looking to triple daily milk volume

12:51 pm on 21 August 2008

Fonterra says its suppliers are recovering well from the summer drought.

It expects to more than triple the volume of milk it processes daily between now and the season's peak in late October, to more than 80 million litres a day.

Milk supply general manager Jason Minkhorst, says Fonterra is currently processing about 25 million litres of milk each day.

He says this season is off to a good start, despite being preceded by a drought, and despite recent heavy rain in parts of the country.

Fonterra has already announced plans to build a new $212 million milk powder plant at its Edendale site, with a new dryer that is thought to be one of the largest in the world.

Mr Minkhorst says it may be necessary to plan other plants in Southland and Canterbury - particularly concentration sites - where 50% of the water is removed from milk to reduce its volume and lower transport costs.