Fonterra Sees Growth in Organic Demand in Asia

The outcome of the new strategy is a focus on supply from the central districts of Waikato and Bay of Plenty of New Zealand, which is complemented by a strong sales focus on Asia, in particular on China.

Feb 15 2012 – Fonterra, the largest dairy exporter in the world, is exhibiting its organic portfolio at the leading organic trade show BioFach in Nürnberg, which opens its doors today. Last year Fonterra initiated a refreshed strategy for its Organics business. The outcome of the new strategy is a focus on supply from the central districts of Waikato and Bay of Plenty of New Zealand, which is complemented by a strong sales focus on Asia, in particular on China.

Fonterra’s growth of organic dairy in Asia is realised through products like cheese, infant formula and other consumer packaged goods. Craig Deadman, Global Marketing Manager Organics from Fonterra explains: “Food safety seems to be one of the predominant reasons behind the growth in the Asian markets. Asian and particularly Chinese consumers have a high level of confidence in safety and naturalness of New Zealand’s organic dairy products. The New Zealand Food Safety Authority is responsible for the New Zealand Technical Rules of Organic Production standard. This standard has equivalency with the EU organic standard and is also recognized by the US Department of Agriculture.”

Organic farming in New Zealand means that cows are pasture grazed all year round, which supports a low carbon footprint and provides the benefit of higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids, CLA’s and vitamins A & E. Fonterra’s organic products are also rBST free and our organic farmers receive a premium price for their organic milk.

“We now also see a trend that Asian suppliers want to re-pack their consumer products in New Zealand, just to be able to make the claim:”produced and packaged in New Zealand”. That instills the highest level of confidence and that is a very visible benefit for Asian consumers and thus has value for our customers who sell into Asia,” says Craig Deadman of Fonterra.

Fonterra supplies both organic ingredients and consumer products to customers and consumers worldwide. The organic ingredient range includes milk powder (full cream and skim milk), cheese, butter (salted & unsalted), milk protein concentrate and liquid milk. Our consumer brands are Simply Organic liquid milk and Mainland Organic cheese available in New Zealand, USA & Singapore.