Fonterra Wants to Double its Business in the U.S.

Posted by Brian Gould Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:07:00 GMT

Fonterra USA’s president Martin Bates says the division is involved in partnerships and activities generating turnover of US$2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) a year and probably contributes revenue of US$1.3 billion to the group result. “I can easily see that we can double that business in three to five years,” Bates says. “And the biggest opportunity is not the import side of things, it’s working in the US and leveraging our technologies and those things in there.” Fonterra will officially open its new North American headquarters and a development center in Chicago later this month.

Fonterra USA has five core parts - importing commodities such as casein and milk proteins, value add ingredients for product functional and nutritional attributes, exports, a small brands business and a joint venture with co-operative Dairy Farmers of America called DairiConcepts which is mainly domestic focussed with manufacturing of milk proteins and cheese powders. The company has a marketing relationship with Dairy America - an association of nine producer-owned dairy co-operatives - to supply skimmed milk powder to the global traded market.