New Zealand’s Fonterra Co-operative Group has been ranked as the largest milk processor in the world.Global industry research group, International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN), benchmarked 600 milk processors in over 70 countries and placed Fonterra’s total annual volume of milk processed ahead of Dairy Farmers of America, Nestlé, Dean Foods and FrieslandCampina.

Fonterra CEO, Andrew Ferrier, said the ranking reflected the global reach and scale of the company’s business, with its New Zealand milk supply and manufacturing operations at the core.

“With 80 per cent of our milk supply coming from our 10,500 New Zealand farmer-shareholders and processed into over 2 million tonnes of export product every year, our local operations, which employ about 10,000 of our staff, are the cornerstone of our global business,” he advised.

Mr Ferrier said around 20 per cent of Fonterra’s milk was sourced globally, with the volume growing as the company extended its dairy ingredients supply partnerships with customers around the world.

Despite being the largest processor in the world the company only holds a small share (2.7%) of the world milk market.

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