News briefs: Campina, Fonterra and Emmi

Campina plots German investment ​ Campina says it will invest €10m into its German operations over the next two years in a bid to improve liquid milk production in the country. The funding, which still requires approval from the German government, will be focused solely on streamlining production of Campina's leading brands at the cooperative's Cologne plant. Michael Feller, managing director of the group's consumer products operations in Germany, said that the restructure would lead to the loss of 38 jobs as it moves to producing only branded fresh milk and quark products. "The refurbishments and expansion activities will be completed at the end of 2009 and we expect this to lead to a strong improvement in the efficiency of the Cologne​ production facility,"​ he stated. According to the group, the Cologne site is Campina's largest production plant within Germany, which processes milk from its farmers in the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. Emmi sells off cheese unit ​ Emmi has announced it is selling off its 35 per cent stake in cheese group Baer to France-based manufacturer Lactalis, which has recently acquired the company. The cost of the sale, which still awaits French regulatory approval, was undisclosed by both companies. ​Fonterra lifts predicted farmer payout ​ New Zealand-based Fonterra said that it has lifted its member/farmer payout forecast by NZ$0.60 to NZ$7.90 for the 2007/2008 season after recent droughts in the country exacerbated supply concerns. Cooperative chairman Henry van der Heyden said the increase reflected a confident outlook for dairy production in the country despite fears over production costs. "This is good news for our farmers to have the extra cash flow at a time when they are facing sharply rising input costs, which DairyNZ confirms are up by 32 per cent over the past year,"​ he stated. "It will also go some way to make up for the production lost this season due to the drought."​