By LEE MIELKE

Mielke Market Weekly

 

Police late last week revealed a threat to poison New Zealand milk products in an apparent protest over pest control. According to HighGround Dairy’s Eric Meyer, it was revealed that Fonterra and Federated Farmers received threatening letters last November, along with milk packages that tested positive for the poison. While police said the threat could be a hoax, the New Zealand government made very clear that all potential threats like this are taken seriously. Prior to the announcement, trading of dairy securities and derivatives on New Zealand listed exchanges were halted.

Both Fonterra & Federated Farmers issued press releases acknowledging the criminal threat to their organizations while stating that safety testing and precautions have and are being taken. Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said in a press conference that the criminal threat was “blackmail against New Zealand, and as an industry, we won’t tolerate it.”

“We can fully assure our customers and consumers that all of our milk and products are safe and of high quality, and our supply chain continues to be secure and world-class. We are playing our part in helping the Government manage the criminal threat, as is the rest of the dairy industry. We have taken immediate and decisive steps to give our customers and consumers added confidence – including increased testing and security measures.”

HighGround Dairy’s Eric Meyer said Friday the threat is “more bark than bite at this point,” but they await more details. “It appears to be a non-issue in the industry,” he explained, “The markets have not reacted in any way from the New Zealand industry over this issue.”