Westland will decide on its final 2014/15 payout in September. Westland Milk Products, New Zealand's second-largest dairy co-operative, cut its forecast milk payout to farmers by 10c for the current season and by $1 for next season, in the face of sustained weakness in global dairy prices.
The Hokitika-based company
will pay $4.80 to $4.90 per kilogram of milk solids for the 2014/15 season, with the final payout to be determined at the September board meeting, it said.
The forecast payout for the 2015/16 season was slashed to between $4.60 and $5/kgMS, from a previous band of $5.60 to $6/kgMS.
Prices for whole milk powder, the country's key commodity export, have plunged this year, and dropped an unexpectedly large 10.7 per cent in the GlobalDairyTrade auction this month.
Dairy prices are now expected to remain lower for longer than previously forecast, amid higher global supplies, weak demand in China and an import ban in Russia on European dairy products, which are being sold into other markets.
