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Thread ID: 88489	2008-03-29 05:26:00	Who do you blame for the price of milk ?	Digby (677)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
653915	2008-03-29 07:38:00	100% Fonterra. As soon as the export prices go up, they put up the local prices. Did you know NZ exports over 95% of milk solid production? Like the last 5% makes that much difference. For years I have asked the question (including on this forum) "why is milk more expensive than petrol?". It is because we are being reamed by Fonterra. And now the farmers want compensation for a drought.....sorry guys, you can't have it both ways. You expect relief via public funds from the very consumers you ream? Yeah right!	andrew93 (249)
653916	2008-03-29 07:44:00	From? India. You will not believe how cheap the milk is there. The costs have gone up but its nothing like here I think. And butter and cheese too.	beeswax34 (63)
653917	2008-03-29 08:03:00	As I happen to work for a sub contractor for Fonterra I think I have a fair idea. The dairy producers milk cows (dairy farmers that is) Fonterra pick up the milk and process this and we we get Milk in various flavours along with cheese, cream, milk powder and etc. A byproduct of producing Cheese is Whey. Now whey can be used in several ways and this pun was intended. I have delivered Whey to Farmers who use this as a source of food for cows. I have also used whey to fertilise paddocks in which we grow Maize which of course after harvest is also a source of food for cows. Some of the sports drinks consumed will contain Whey.	Sweep (90)
653918	2008-03-29 08:09:00	100% Fonterra. As soon as the export prices go up, they put up the local prices. Did you know NZ exports over 95% of milk solid production? Like the last 5% makes that much difference. For years I have asked the question (including on this forum) "why is milk more expensive than petrol?". It is because we are being reamed by Fonterra. And now the farmers want compensation for a drought.....sorry guys, you can't have it both ways. You expect relief via public funds from the very consumers you ream? Yeah right! OK. Could I assume you do not buy a 1.5 litre bottle of cocacola for less than petrol per millilitre? You may also do what I do. Stop buying butter or cheese.	Sweep (90)
653919	2008-03-29 08:55:00	OK. Could I assume you do not buy a 1.5 litre bottle of cocacola for less than petrol per millilitre? I don't drink that much Coke. Around summer time you can often get 1.5 litre Coke for 99c or thereabouts at Pak n Save - depending on what the competition is doing, it is often part of their annual promotion. I have the occasional Coke but it's not what I regard as a staple, but I take your point. You may also do what I do. Stop buying butter or cheese.Agreed - one way of avoiding the high prices. I've gone one better and stopped eating it altogether! I'm trying to cut dairy out of my diet - it's harder than you think..... Cheers Andrew	andrew93 (249)
653920	2008-03-29 09:12:00	I understand that supermarkets don't have particularly fat margins to start with (3% to 5% on most products I believe), and they rely on volume to make their profits. Most other retailers have margins of between 50% and 200% (depending on ticket price). Fonterra however has no real competition thanks to the rubber stamp organisation that is the Commerce Commission. Fonterra are far too big and have no incentive whatsoever to provide anything but big fat cheques to their shareholders (the farmers) - and their Board. And I heartily agree with andrew93 - they shouldn't receive any drought relief from my hard-earned and reluctantly-parted-with tax dollars. Sell a few more litres of milk!!! That'll pay for it. Better still, don't buy that new $600,000 tractor (for cash!!) this year, which will save a bit on the trade deficit too!!	johcar (6283)
653921	2008-03-29 09:55:00	As I happen to work for a sub contractor for Fonterra I think I have a fair idea. The dairy producers milk cows (dairy farmers that is) Fonterra pick up the milk and process this and we we get Milk in various flavours along with cheese, cream, milk powder and etc. A byproduct of producing Cheese is Whey. Now whey can be used in several ways and this pun was intended. I have delivered Whey to Farmers who use this as a source of food for cows. I have also used whey to fertilise paddocks in which we grow Maize which of course after harvest is also a source of food for cows. Some of the sports drinks consumed will contain Whey. So, who DO you blame? I mean most of your post had nothing to do with the poll, just going on about Whey. WTF?	beeswax34 (63)
653922	2008-03-29 11:17:00	I say we should charge them the fart tax, if they don't lower the local price to the 'hand that feeds them'. Otherwise the NZ tax payer will be not only being charged high prices for their products, but we will also be subsidising them for their carbon emmissions (eg. cows offgasing). I believe some of our milk products are now being imported, such as some of the budget branded cheeses and the milk used in processed goods. These are probably coming from countries such as india, china and mexico. It is a little bit like our petrol product. NZers can't afford to buy the locally produced oil, so our local stuff is exported, and we then import our oil from offshore. Such as huge waste of energy (and massive carbon footprint) by shipping the exact same stuff that we are importing. We will probably end up doing the same thing with milk, and maybe even meat in the future.	robbyp (2751)
653923	2008-03-29 11:39:00	I say we should charge them the fart tax, if they don't lower the local price to the 'hand that feeds them'. And they'll just pass on the cost of the "fart tax" to us. They really have the country over a barrel because they know that we know, without dairy, our economy would resemble a smoking hole in the ground.	beeswax34 (63)
653924	2008-03-29 18:59:00	And they'll just pass on the cost of the "fart tax" to us. They really have the country over a barrel because they know that we know, without dairy, our economy would resemble a smoking hole in the ground. Quite right. Also, this has to be a two edged sword; be aware, that as soon as there was a whiff of dairy product prices increasing (ie payout to farmers), input costs increased hugely (benefit to urban business's. But it was going to happen anyway with fuel increasing by so much). I don't really know how the touted drought relief package will work. I imagine that it won't be cash in the hand, more tax relief by spreading tax obligations and incentives for re-grassing where the drought has wiped out pasture? I would say that any relief measures, if they happen, are definitely not for the benefit of individual farming families, but to try and ensure an important industry stays viable. Competition for Fonterra is here now; a Russian company is opening a plant in the south, along with another couple of companies. Westland always stayed independant and as some would say, rode on the shirt tails of Fonterra's strength and international marketing power - yes, NZ needs critical mass overseas, to survive. Also there's Open Country Cheese in the Waikato and of course, the ubiquitous Tatua. I couldn't really say why 5% of our production is charged for at the level it is. I daresay that's up to the retailers. But anyway, the Directors and Executives, certainly wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't make the most of every opportunity. Social welfare is the Government's concern, not Fonterra's and just think of all those overseas earnings, that benefit everybody.	jcr1 (893)
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