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Speaker 1: Very healthy looking days on the dairy farm. As we've

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Speaker 1: been telling you over these last couple of days, Fonterra

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Speaker 1: bump their payout price yet again. Yesterday we've got news

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Speaker 1: of the proposed sale of course of the consumer businesses,

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Speaker 1: and we've also got the AGM this week. Fonterra's Cooperative

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Speaker 1: Council chair John Stevenson will us John, very good morning

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Speaker 1: to you.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning, Mike.

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Speaker 1: Are they golden days.

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Speaker 2: At nine dollars fifty? There's no doubt about it is

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Speaker 2: a really strong number historically. I think context is really

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Speaker 2: important Mike though as well. We're coming off a year

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Speaker 2: with a seven eighty three milk price. Darien Zed came

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Speaker 2: out with their break even figure of eight oh one,

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Speaker 2: so there's definitely some deferred maintenance to catch up on,

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Speaker 2: but also really important to note that it's a long

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Speaker 2: way to go. Milprice won't be confirmed till September twenty five,

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Speaker 2: and what can heaven between now and then.

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Speaker 1: That is true, it is eight oh one too high

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Speaker 1: in terms of debt. Are we just two indebted.

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Speaker 2: Potentially? And I think you know, farmers would have had

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Speaker 2: a really close look at their systems and you know,

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Speaker 2: some of those costs have been been out of farmers' control,

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Speaker 2: so you know, I think that's important to bear in mind.

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Speaker 2: But that's a big part of it. And we've seen

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Speaker 2: high debts service in costs, there's no doubt about it.

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Speaker 1: What's your read on what happened yesterday at nine point fifty?

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Speaker 1: Is it sustainable? They talked a bit about China, demand, Africa,

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Speaker 1: Southeast Asia? Is all of that ongoing? Do you think?

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Speaker 1: Or we just don't know.

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Speaker 2: We've certainly seen some positive signs on the both of

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Speaker 2: demand and the supply front, and that you know, you

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Speaker 2: don't have to look too far back in history might

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Speaker 2: to see things can shift pretty quickly up and down.

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Speaker 2: We export ninety five percent of our products, so you

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Speaker 2: know we are really subject to global markets and they

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Speaker 2: can move quickly.

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Speaker 1: That's true. Do we have a view on the trade sale?

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Speaker 1: Not the trade sale the consumer soil, whether it's trade

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Speaker 1: or IPO.

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Speaker 2: Farmers have mentioned to us that they are keen on

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Speaker 2: considering both options. We're a pretty broad church. We've got

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Speaker 2: over eight thousand farms and a number of a number

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Speaker 2: more stakeholders than that, so we've heard different views. Michael,

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Speaker 2: I think the key thing is that farmers would be

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Speaker 2: came to see the best possible value out of any sale.

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Speaker 2: It's also important to note that that farmers will have

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Speaker 2: to vote on any any any sale. That's a really

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Speaker 2: big decision, so you know, we'll be we'll be making

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Speaker 2: sure that they're well informed.

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Speaker 1: Good stuff, John, nice to talk to you appreciate it

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Speaker 1: as always, John Stevenson, Fontier Cooperative Council Chairman.

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