Fonterra

Fonterra and Netherlands-based A-ware Food Group have signed an agreement to develop a cheese plant and dairy ingredients plant in Heerenveen, in the north of the Netherlands.

Fonterra will launch a bonus issue in April that the dairy processor says will not dilute the value for either shareholders or unit holders.

Dry weather conditions, particularly in the North Island, in mid-December and January had resulted in a slowdown in milk supply growth, Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said yesterday.

Moves by Fonterra and the Ministry of Primary Industries following the agrichemical scare appear to have largely assured markets that New Zealand dairy products are safe, Westpac economist Nathan Penny says.

Fonterra has moved to persuade global customers that New Zealand dairy products are safe to consume, in the wake of the discovery of dicyandiamide residue in milk.

Australian-based Morningstar Equities is less enthusiastic about the prospects of the Fonterra Shareholders Holder Fund than most of its New Zealand counterparts.

The price of Fonterra's units is expected to rise further next week when it joins the NZX-50, Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms says.

Sir Henry van der Heyden has signed off as chairman of dairy giant Fonterra after a decade in the role.

Retail demand for Fonterra units remains high with the price of units trading at $7.15 yesterday, which was up from the $5.50 listing price.

Otago primary school children can expect to receive a free daily serving of milk next year, as part of a national bid to become ''the dairy nutrition capital of the world''.