Response from Commission unhelpful

The announcement by the Commerce Commission that it was ruling out a 'full' inquiry into the price of milk, but could possibly revisit complaints about Fonterra's farm gate price-setting, is unclear and unhelpful for all stakeholders, says Labour's Agriculture spokesperson Damien O'Connor.

"What everyone - from farmers to consumers - needed was clarity over how the price of milk to domestic consumers is being calculated and whether it is fair to everyone involved.

"The Commission has left too many questions unanswered. Acknowledging its own inaction in some areas of concern had left everyone none the wiser," Damien O'Connor said.

"The Commission has failed to give clarity to any of the affected parties. Where there might be issues, such as at the factory gate, the Commission claims it can't act; and where people need explanation, around wholesale and retail markets, it claims the threshold has not been met.

"While Fonterra has intervened and said it would hold the price of milk until the end of the year, farmers and consumers get no indication as to what will happen next.

"We all know the price of milk is up there, and families with growing kids, especially, will be rightly angry that it's unlikely to change any time soon," Damien O'Connor said.

© Scoop Media