Fonterra

Christmas has come early for Fonterra farmer shareholders with the dairy giant lifting its 2012-13 season payout forecast range by 25c to $5.90-$6.

Fonterra shareholders will be able to meet director candidates during roadshows in the South tomorrow.

Demand for units in the Fonterra Shareholder Fund surged yesterday, with $133 million worth of trading in the three hours following the launch of Trading Among Farmers.

Fonterra units have been valued at the top of the range at $5.50 each but demand is expected to push them up even further when trading begins on the NZX on Friday.

Many farmer shareholders seem to be taking a "wait and see" approach before selling economic rights of shares into the Fonterra Shareholders Fund, the dairy co-operative says.

Fonterra's newly-acquired milk-processing plant at Studholme, near Waimate, has already broken a record - producing 924 metric tonnes of whole milk powder in a week.

Fonterra will not comment on a report out of Beijing that China Investment Corp is seeking a stake in the Fonterra Shareholders Fund, which is still in its formative stages, a spokesman for the co-operative says.

Fonterra is continuing its expansion in China with the purchase of two more big dairy farms in Hebei Province.

Trading Among Farmers could be the start of a "highly innovative and exciting chapter" in Fonterra's history, Federated Farmers dairy chairman Willy Leferink believes.

Units in Fonterra's Shareholders Fund, which will raise up to $525 million, are expected to go on sale on November 5.