New Zealand deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Winston Peters has said Fonterra’s recent financial performance is not nearly good enough.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in Dublin this week, Peters said the New Zealand government was reviewing the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA), which led to the creation of Fonterra. The review could result in major changes at Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter.

“Fonterra’s performance has simply not been nearly as good as it should have been. They can make every excuse they like but there has been lost opportunity of somewhere between $1.5bn and $1.6bn by Fonterra,” said Peters.

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He added that Fonterra has failed to move more milk into added-value products and is still reliant on bulk commodities. Peters also warned of New Zealand’s dairy industry being reliant on one company and one market.

“The dairy industry is dependent on one product – milk; one company – Fonterra; and one market – China. There are inherent dangers in all three propositions,” he said.