Shares in Beingmate - the Chinese company which is 18.8pc owned by Fonterra - have halved in value over the past three weeks.

Fonterra has begun consulting staff on proposals to streamline its business structures, a spokesman for the co-operative said.

The New Zealand dollar fell after prices for the nation's largest commodity export declined in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight.

The price for NZ's key dairy export, whole milk powder, is set to decline further at tonight's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

MP says cost to Kiwis unacceptable as Fonterra, supermarkets point finger at one another.

One fact is often overlooked amid all the hype about business opportunities in China.

Prime Minister John Key says overseas markets are causing high prices for milk at home.

The account surplus was larger-than-expected in the first quarter as spending by tourists widened the services balance.

More falls in dairy prices are expected in the next few months, but futures market pricing suggests a mild bounce-back might take place at tomorrow's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Opposition parties have labelled Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings' $4.18m salary as "absurd".

The Labour Party has launched into the controversy surrounding Fonterra's latest restructuring by saying chief executive Theo Spierings should take a voluntary pay cut.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson says he knows farmers are increasingly anxious about low farm-gate milk prices.

It hasn't been a great week for investment bankers on both sides of the Tasman.

Media were told that hundreds of Fonterra jobs were to be axed, hours before staff heard the news.

Fonterra management had no choice but to restructure, writes Liam Dann. But it is cosmetic surgery for a patient that requires much more fundamental medical attention.

Auckland Council should follow the lead of Fonterra, which is laying off hundreds of staff in response to low dairy prices, says Orakei councillor Cameron Brewer.

Fonterra says it will lay off hundreds of its 1500 head office staff in a major review following the decline in dairy prices.

AgriHQ forecasts increased milk production and a higher forecast payout to dairy farmers will bolster the economy.

Danone Nutricia, the French-owned infant formula maker, has reported a full-year loss it attributes to the continuing effects of the Fonterra Co-operative Group's botulism scare in August 2013.

Danone Nutricia has reported a full-year loss it attributes to ongoing fallout from the Fonterra botulism scare in 2013.

Is global consulting firm McKinsey reviewing management at Fonterra? Seems so, though Fonterra won't confirm it.

The sale of Lochinver station to Chinese interests spearheaded by Shanghai Pengxin reignited concerns about farm sales to foreigners during the election campaign.

The only topic that seems to be competing with Auckland house prices at present seems to be the declining Fonterra payout, and what it means for the economy as a whole.

The dollar touched a four-month low against the euro after the European Central Bank lifted its inflation forecast.

The yawning gap between supply and demand once again made its presence felt at the latest GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction.

The ANZ Commodity Price Index for May fell by 4.7pc, following April's 7.4 per cent decline.