Fonterra hits production seasonal peak

Last season's peak - 89.6 million litres - occurred on October 19.

Fonterra said its milk production hit a seasonal high of 86.9 million litres on October 22 - down 3 per cent from last season's peak.

The co-op said five new plants each contributed to a record amount of "peak" milk made into value-added products this month.

Managing director global operations Robert Spurway said the additional capacity had given the co-operative more options with its product mix.

"Getting the most out of large volumes comes down to having the capacity to process every drop of our farmers' milk while also striking the right balance between our ingredients and foodservice capabilities," he said in a statement.

"This season we've been able to bring new plants online to drive greater value into both of these parts of the business," he says.

A new dryer at Pahiatua and three plants at Edendale came online in August, delivering more capacity and operational efficiency in milk powders, while a new mozzarella plant at Clandeboye had doubled the Co-operative's capacity for one of its most in-demand foodservice products, he said.

Spurway said Fonterra now had more options around how and where it could process its milk, which meant it could prioritise milk into higher margin products.

Fonterra reviews its product mix and priorities every 24 hours according to market demand, incoming milk volumes, product value and costs such as transport and logistics.

Further expansion is currently underway at Fonterra sites in Lichfield and Eltham to add a new milk powder dryer and slice-on-slice cheese lines respectively, with these new developments on track to be up and running in time for the 2016 peak.

Last season's peak - 89.6 million litres - occurred on October 19.