Fonterra asks others to its online global sales platform

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra says it expects a variety of interested parties to comment on the proposal to expand its online global sales platform to include rival dairy companies. Fonterra has always been keen to get other firms onto its auction site, globalDairyTrade (gDT), which holds bidding for commodity products twice a month. It has now released draft rules to enable that to occur and is seeking public comment. Several international dairy firms have had input into the draft rules, including Denmark’s Arla, and Australia’s Murray Goulburn. Critics say the auctions further dragged down international commodity prices. GDT has notched up EUR2.3bn in sales since its launch and is now considered a barometer of global commodity prices.

In related news, Fonterra has established a Japan operational base in Osaka in the wake of the earthquake, where it says there is less disruption from the current crisis to focus on managing its business. The company said its 69 staff are safe but it has closed its Toyko office for now. The management team is trying to contact its customers to assess the impact of the disaster on them, a spokesman says: “We have product held in warehouses across Japan and we are in the process of checking on its condition now.”