Fonterra’s Edendale manufacturing site. Photo: Supplied
Dairy giant Fonterra says 70 jobs will be created as it invests $150 million to build a new plant at its Edendale site in Southland.
The investment will fund a new UHT cream plant as Fonterra expands its operations in Asia.
Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell announced the news in Malaysia where the co-operative says demand for its products is growing.
“Demand for UHT cream continues to strengthen. Globally, we’re expecting demand to increase by more than 4 per cent year on year between 2023–2032,” he said in a statement.
The new plant would initially create upward of 50 million litres of UHT processing capacity with the capacity to grow beyond 100 million litres by 2030.
Fonterra COO Anna Palairet says the Edendale site was well set up for future growth.
“The additional processing capacity will allow us to manufacture more UHT cream products and grow value for farmers.”
The Edendale plant suffered a blow last year when cheese-making ceased at the site with the loss of 34 jobs.
