page_title: Fonterra
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fonterra / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A Fonterra cooperative dairy factory north of Hamilton, New Zealand.
context_page_description: Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by around 10,500 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ$17.2 billion, is New Zealand's largest company.
  Fonterra was established in October 2001 following the merger of the country's two largest dairy co-operatives, New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Cooperative Dairies, with the New Zealand Dairy Board. The name Fonterra comes from Latin fons de terra, meaning "spring from the land".
context_section_description: In New Zealand, as in most Western countries, dairy co-operatives have long been the main organisational structure in the industry. The first dairy co-operative was established in Otago in 1871. By 1920, there were 600 dairy processing factories of which about 85% were owned by co-operatives. In the 1930s there were around 500 co-operatives but after World War II, improved transportation, processing technologies and energy systems led to a trend of consolidation, where the co-operatives merged and became larger and fewer in number. By the end of the 1990s, there were only four co-operatives nationwide: the Waikato-based New Zealand Dairy Group 404, the Taranaki-based Kiwi Co-operative Dairies 404, Westland Milk Products, and Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company.
  Fonterra was formed in 2001 from the merger of the two largest co-operatives, New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies, together with the New Zealand Dairy Board, which had been the marketing and export agent for all the co-operatives. Fonterra effectively has monopsony control of the New Zealand domestic and export dairy industry. The merger was initially turned down by the New Zealand Commerce Commission, but later approved by the New Zealand Government, with subsequent legislation deregulating the dairy industry, allowing for the export of dairy products to be undertaken by any company. The two smaller co-operatives, Tatua and Westland, did not join Fonterra, preferring to remain independent.
  The company has an annual turnover of around NZ$17 billion. Its core business consists of exporting dairy products under the NZMP brand (95% of its New Zealand production is exported). It also operates a fast-moving consumer goods business for dairy products, Fonterra Brands. Fonterra has a number of subsidiaries and joint-venture companies operating in markets around the world.
  In 2005, the company purchased a large factory in Dennington, Victoria, Australia, from Nestlé, after they moved out of the collection of milk from farmers and the manufacture of powdered milk in Australia. Also in 2005 the company made moves towards purchasing Australian companies Dairy Farmers and National Foods. It also converted its 50 per cent stake in Victoria dairy producer Bonlac to full ownership. At this time $1 billion of Fonterra's revenue was from Australian sales, which was 14 per cent of the dairy products it sells around the world.
  In June 2008, the company acquired the yoghurt and dairy dessert business of Nestlé Australia, which it on-sold to Parmalat Australia in December 2015.
  In 2010, US embassy cables leaked by WikiLeaks suggested New Zealand had only sent troops to Iraq in 2003, following the initial invasion, so Fonterra would keep valuable Oil for Food contracts.
  In 2019, the Tip Top ice cream brand was sold for NZ$380 million to Froneri, a global joint venture between Nestlé and PAI Partners.
  In September 2019, Fonterra agreed to sell its 50% stake in DFE Pharma for NZ$633 million ($400.37 million).
caption: Te Rapa dairy factory north of Hamilton.
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