Egg firm believed to have poached Fonterra contract

Mainland Poultry has been named as the new majority owner of a dairy supplier understood to have taken over Progressive Enterprises' house brand fresh milk contract from Fonterra.

The supplier is Auckland-based Independent Dairy Producers, according to an industry source.

Without denying the agreement, an Independent executive yesterday referred questions to Mainland Poultry in Dunedin, which he said had taken a majority stake in Independent.

Mainland manager Hamish Sutherland would not confirm that his company had taken a majority holding in Independent.

He said he did not want to comment on supply arrangements.

Online Companies Office records yesterday did not show Mainland as having a stake in Independent but there is no legal requirement to log transfers of shares on the site, although many companies do.

Fonterra confirmed last week that it was to lose a significant chunk of the domestic fresh milk market after the supermarket chain axed its contract to supply milk in the North Island.

The contract was said to be a relatively small part of Fonterra's global operations.

But - covering between 8 and 12 per cent of the domestic fresh milk market - it was one the co-op did not want to lose.

Some or all of the milk supplied to Progressive may still come from Fonterra farmers under rules which mean the co-op has to supply independent companies.

The Independent official said his company sold Cow and Gate brand milk in the North Island.