Be surprised. Be very surprised.Foodstuffs promised this week to pass on a reduction in the price of wholesale milk to The Great Unwashed - us!
New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra announced it was dropping the wholesale milk price from the end of this month...although it's not known how big the reduction will be or how long it will last.
But Foodstuffs, which owns the Pak'n'Save chain of supermarkets, has said any savings will be passed on to customers. No word yet from opposition Progressive Enterprises (which owns Countdown), about whether it will also pass the reduction on...but it would be very bad PR not to.
Fonterra says international dairy prices have softened since the highs of last year and, while they're on the rise again, it expects to see local prices come down slightly.
You'll recall after we moaned and bitched loudly last year about the rising retail milk prices, Fonterra froze the price of NZ wholesale milk. What I find curious is the constant reporting that NZ's milk prices are at the whim of the international market, yet Fonterra supplies 30% of the world dairy market! 30%!! With that sort of control, WHY are we are the "whim of the international market"? Why is it not the complete reverse?
Being such a valuable source of nutrients for the young, I'd like to see milk a damn sight cheaper than it even is now. I know we'll never again see the "good old days" when it was just 4c a pint (true!) but surely there must be a place for some sort of government subsidy, out of the health budget perhaps? Or a trade incentive, to motivate Fonterra to reduce the price some more? Then after that, a return to glass bottles for easy recycling...oh yea, and home delivery too... See? I don't ask for much!
PS: 25 Jan.2012 - Finally! The govt.unleashes the Commerce Commission on Fonterra's pricing!
PS: 07 Feb.2012 - Until the end of February, Nosh Food Markets have slashed 2L of milk to $2 (from $4.49)!! Go, Nosh! There's the challenge - do other supermarkets have the balls to match/better this?
2 comments:
El-cheapo milk in Australia measures $1 a litre, although Costco sells 3L for $2
Downside = probably the *local* dairy industry.
WOW!!!
THAT's the sort of price I'm talking about! And although Australia has a far larger population than NZ, we have Fonterra...and should be able to have prices close to this.
SURELY!
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