Danone agreed to buy WhiteWave Foods Co. for about $10 billion to add the best-selling U.S. soy milk brand Silk and expand in organic food in its biggest acquisition in almost a decade.
Units in Murray Goulburn Co-operative Ltd. fell to the lowest since they began trading last year after the Australian dairy group slashed its profit target by as much as 50 percent because of lower milk prices and a resilient Australian dollar.
New Zealand banks are probably taking a close look at their lending to dairy farmers as global prices plunge and many in the industry brace for a third season of potential losses, Finance Minister Bill English said.
As if a sharp fall in the price of milk, New Zealand’s biggest export, wasn’t bad enough, the country is now bracing for a summer drought that could further hurt farmers and raise the risk of recession.
France’s government pledged aid for farmers following an emergency meeting Tuesday, as meat and dairy producers halted traffic and blocked tourist sites in several regions to protest low prices.
Once upon a time there were 20 sheep to every Kiwi. Now it’s more like seven to every New Zealander. Blame cows, which are now bringing home the bacon.
