Fonterra to build new plant in Canterbury

Fonterra is planning to build a new dairy factory about 45 kilometres west of Christchurch, New Zealand.

The dairy giant said it had taken options on land near Darfield for the new milk processing plant, expected to be operating in September 2012. It would be the dairy giant's eighth processing factory in the South Island and its 27th in New Zealand.

Fonterra's Managing Director Trade and Operations, Gary Romano, said the development would be among the largest investments in manufacturing in New Zealand in the past five years and would cater for strong milk growth in the area in the future.

''Canterbury is the fastest-growing dairying region in New Zealand. It is now producing about 15% of the country's milk for export and growing at a rate of more than 5% annually,'' Romano said.

The company would now start discussing its plans with the Darfield community.

''While it's still early days, we expect the development would create more than 50 new permanent jobs, on top of the work the construction of the plant would provide for local businesses.''

Fonterra is considering a high-efficiency milk powder plant processing up to 2.2 million litres of milk a day for the site. That would require supply from about 200 farms. Another option was a plant for high-value nutritional milk powders.

Romano said Darfield was at the heart of dairy's growth in the region. The processing site would mean fewer tanker movements to collect milk compared to taking it to another site.