Fonterra says it is continuing to look at how it can help relieve the US infant formula shortage crisis but any discussions on this as it joins the Prime Minister-led trade delegation to the US look likely to be impromptu.
New Zealand's dairy industry leader will be represented on this week's delegation by Mike Cronin, managing director co-operative affairs, but the company said while it wants to assist with the infant formula shortage, no meetings to specifically discuss this are scheduled.
US president Joe Biden has authorised the military to fly in emergency infant formula supplies from Europe after a fatal food safety scare closed formula manufacturer Abbott - one of four companies which control 90 per cent of the US market after years of consolidation.
Fonterra is a supplier of base ingredients to US infant formula manufacturers and has said it is in close contact with customers and partners to help them with the supply gap from an ingredients perspective. It had sent ingredients by airfreight to assist.
Fonterra produces finished infant formula for sale in New Zealand and in some export markets. But the US is not one of them. New Zealand's biggest company and the world's largest dairy exporter said this was because the US has market barriers in place that prevent this country's exporters from registering to supply finished formula to the US market.