The Fonterra Sale: Good for farmers but what about the country?

Winston Peters has said the sale of Fonterra’s brands will be bad for NZ. (Image: NZME)

Fri, 31 Oct 2025

Foreign Minister Winston Peters was right to recently query the sale of the consumer operations of dairy giant Fonterra to Lactalis, which has just been approved by shareholders. This sale has received very little policy attention and the media has mainly repeated Fonterra statements. But it is a huge deal and there has been very little discussion about whether or not it is good for New Zealand: the interests of dairy farmers and the country are not quite the same.The sale is huge: a reported $4.2 billion deal, resulting in a $3....

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