BDL
17-04-2011, 06:27 PM
I have been following the discussion in the media about the high cost of dairy products in NZ for a while now.
I lived in Australia for 5 years up until 2008, and found dairy products there were usually about 30%-40% cheaper than prices in NZ. A lot of these products where often Fonterra brands.
I have just returned from a trip to Europe and in Spain, where we spent the most time, UHT milk is the main form that fresh milk is bought. This requires no refrigeration until it is opened and has a long shelf life, making it a very good product from an environmental point, with still most of it's nutritional benefits still intact.
This retailed in the supermarkets for 0.48cents for 6 liters. Standard milk was still considerably cheaper than NZ, not to mention the huge range of cheese available at very affordable prices, prices and selection you would expect from a huge dairy producing nation like ours.(This should be a tourism draw card.)
Why has the government allowed Fonterra, by special legislation, to be a monopoly in NZ and to over charge New Zealanders like this?
Why is Fonterra a closed shop in NZ to the huge beneft of just the farmer shareholders, why can we not all be shareholders in this NZ icon?
Why can Fonterra farmers, all 13,000 of them, sell out our country to the Chinese for huge profits, again stopping average New Zealanders getting into the industry.
Why can we not value add, and create jobs and a country we can all be proud of.
This is an election year and I get the feeling a lot of New Zealanders are getting tired and disillusioned with the why things are going.
Why do NZ farmers get special treatment in NZ with drought relief etc, my small business doesn't.
Just a few thoughts for your comments.....
BDL.
I lived in Australia for 5 years up until 2008, and found dairy products there were usually about 30%-40% cheaper than prices in NZ. A lot of these products where often Fonterra brands.
I have just returned from a trip to Europe and in Spain, where we spent the most time, UHT milk is the main form that fresh milk is bought. This requires no refrigeration until it is opened and has a long shelf life, making it a very good product from an environmental point, with still most of it's nutritional benefits still intact.
This retailed in the supermarkets for 0.48cents for 6 liters. Standard milk was still considerably cheaper than NZ, not to mention the huge range of cheese available at very affordable prices, prices and selection you would expect from a huge dairy producing nation like ours.(This should be a tourism draw card.)
Why has the government allowed Fonterra, by special legislation, to be a monopoly in NZ and to over charge New Zealanders like this?
Why is Fonterra a closed shop in NZ to the huge beneft of just the farmer shareholders, why can we not all be shareholders in this NZ icon?
Why can Fonterra farmers, all 13,000 of them, sell out our country to the Chinese for huge profits, again stopping average New Zealanders getting into the industry.
Why can we not value add, and create jobs and a country we can all be proud of.
This is an election year and I get the feeling a lot of New Zealanders are getting tired and disillusioned with the why things are going.
Why do NZ farmers get special treatment in NZ with drought relief etc, my small business doesn't.
Just a few thoughts for your comments.....
BDL.