Fonterra gets bigger foot in door of Chinese dairy market

A company part owned by dairy giant Fonterra has become the third biggest player in the Chinese dairy market.

Shanghai-based Bright Dairy has conceded its spot to up-and-coming company Sanlu, now part-owned by Fonterra.

An Asia Pacific food technology website reported today that Bright lost market share as a result of flagging sales and a quality incident that badly damaged its reputation.

The Chinese dairy sector's national leaders, Yili and Mengniu, have continued to increase their market share, buying up smaller dairies or squeezing them out of the marketplace.

The two now dominate more than 40 per cent of the Chinese milk market.

- NZPA