Fonterra has no plans to build a new milk-processing plant in Otago or Southland to meet increasing milk supply, with its $500 million Darfield plant still to become fully operational.
Fonterra, whose half-year results yesterday included record milk collection up 10% so far this season, said yesterday when contacted there were no plans being considered for another South Island plant, as reported elsewhere.
"While the [milk] production landscape could always change, the focus is Darfield at the moment and nowhere else in the South Island," a spokesman said.
A year ago, Fonterra delivered a 28-tonne, 500,000-litre silo for raw milk to its new drier factory in Darfield, 48km outside Christchurch, the largest made in a New Zealand workshop.
Fonterra said at the time capacity at Darfield was about "future proofing" milk production growth in the South Island, with the first drier due to be commissioned in August.
A second drier, for commissioning next season, was ordered at the time, which could process an additional 4.4 million litres of milk per day, beyond the 2.2-million-litre capacity of the first drier.
