November 14, 2016
Fonterra updates on earthquake impact
Fonterra has confirmed that all of its staff in New Zealand are safe following a recent earthquake that affected the country's South Island.
According to the company, there is no major damage to any of its manufacturing sites. However, it does expect some milk collection to be disrupted due to road closures and other issues accessing farms in the top of the South Island.
"We're extremely relieved to confirm there are no injuries to any of our staff around the country, and our focus continues to be making sure we can contact and support as many of our farmers in affected areas as we can," said Fonterra's Farm Source chief operating officer, Miles Hurrell.
Some farms remain without power, or those that cannot be reached by tanker due to road closures, may need to dispose their milk. Hurrell confirmed that Fonterra will contact farmers directly if disposal is required. "We're doing our best to reach everyone who is due for collection immediately. With power out and phone lines down in some areas, that includes putting Farm Source teams on the road to go door to door to try to update those farmers with the latest information," he said.
Meanwhile, most of Fonterra's manufacturing sites around the country are fully operational and processing milk as usual. "We will continue (to) carry out safety assessments over the course of the day but at this stage, we are comfortable there are no significant structural concerns or on-going impact on the normal running of our business," said chief operating officer for global operations, Robert Spurway.
"This has been a frightening event for many of our communities and our thoughts are with those who are suffering losses," he said.
- Fonterra
