Fonterra won’t compete with NZDF

NEW ZEALAND – Co-operative Fonterra has said this week that it will not compete with New Zealand Dairy Foods (NZDF), which it was forced to sell off last month, for three years.

The co-op has said that it will not build a milk processing plant in the top half of New Zealand’s North Island to compete with NZDF, which it sold to billionaire Graeme Hart.

As part of the deal, Hart has gained control of Fonterra’s Anchor, Fernleaf and Chesdale brands in new New Zealand.

Critics have said that Fonterra’s announcement is anti-competitive, but it has been cleared by New Zealand’s Competition Commission.

Fonterra was forced to sell NZDF by September as a condition of its formation last year.