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Duncan Coull, chairman of Fonterra Shareholders’ Council said the new forecast would put farmers under more personal stress.
Bankers are taking a considered and cautious approach to the situation. A spokesperson said “they would not rush to be forcing people of their farms, but inevitably there are a few that are going to be highly indebted”.
Chinese demand recovering
Fonterra’s CEO, Theo Spierings said the cut would see farmers milk price fall by $400 million (€244m) for the 2015/16 season.
He also said dairy demand from China was recovering at a slow annual rate of 4-5% but sales to oil producing countries was under severe pressure.
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