Mr Hurrell said in an investor briefing on Thursday that Fonterra did not get to the point of putting a value on its Australian business in the review, after deciding that retaining full ownership was the best way of driving future growth and value creation.Fonterra, a co-operative which is owned by 10,000 farmer shareholders, began the review a year ago. Among the options was a potential public float of the business or a sale of a partial stake.
“The business is going well and it will play a key role in helping us get to our 2030 strategic targets,” he said. The company has made a farmgate milk price forecast for 2022-23 of $NZ8.50 to $NZ10, with a mid-point of $NZ9.25. Mr Hurrell said milk prices appeared to have stabilised for now. “We’ve seen a little bit of stability,” he saidsigned a 25-year exclusive trademark licensing agreement. Fonterra was able to use Bega’s name on natural and processed cheddar cheese, string cheese and butter products sold in Australia. In return, it paid Bega Cheese royalties based on retail sales of these products.