The Country 06/08/25: Matt Bolger talks to Jamie Mackay

Fonterra's Managing Director of Co-op Affairs reviews another positive GDT Auction overnight (plus 0.7%, WMP + 2.1%).

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's have a look at last night's Global Dairy Trade
auction and it was a good one. Up zero point
seven percent. Key number Hoole milk powder up two point
one percent. To tell us more about it, Matt Bolger,
Managing director of co op Affairs at Fonterra, And Matt,
before we get on to the milk price and the
GDT auction, I owe you an apology or your family

(00:20):
and apology. I think your father is, of course Jim Bolger,
former Prime Minister, and I think last time we chatted
I may have called him Sir James Bulger, but being
a good irishman, he didn't want a knighthood from the English.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
No, you might be right, but if you're going to
call somebody offense, I think you're pretty tafe on that count.
That's not the worst thing you could have said about him.
So we're still friends.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, thank you for that, Matt, and good on them
for sticking to his principles. This a GEDT auction was
pretty much exactly as the futures market predicted it.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah. Look I got up this morning and saw the
numbers and it was really positive auction. Good thing tonight
In this we obviously said this all price increase across
the board in in a healthy one and homework powder.
But at this time of year, we're increasing volume, so
we probably had a fifty percent increase in the volume
sold on this auction. And as you know, as farms

(01:14):
are starting to milk and we're selling into more of
the peak period. So to have that increase in volume
and then healthy prices, we're pleased with that outcome.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Okay, hole mak powder two point one percent, very positive,
skim milk powder zero point four percent. Butter down three
point eight percent, and that I'm assuming that's because of
the door stopping that Miles Hurrell had to take from
Mikey Sherman. He decided to lower the price of butter.
Is that right, mate?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
No, No, we're refer back to global markets on that,
and I think Jamie so no. Look, butter came down
a little bit, so that might be a little bit
of relief here because obviously the prices that we all pay,
hume families pay at the supermarket checkout in New Zealand,
they're all sort of linked back to those global butter prices.
So those that come down a little bit, which may

(02:03):
help a little bit on the relief side, but of
course in terms of New Zealand's economy, high prices and
area are a great thing. But across the boarder there's
say positive science and particularly when you look at it
in the context of extra volume on this week.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yeah, and the key we dollar that's sub a sixty
US sense, it's all boating well for this season twenty
five twenty six. I think this auction was the first
one hit by a fifteen percent tariff. What difference did
that make?

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Look, there's not a lot of buyers on GDT out
of the United States. That's not the way that they
it's not necessarily the products they buy, and that's not
their method of buying, so that the direct impact isn't there.
There's still a fair bit of uncertainty out there around
the implication of the US tariffs. So you know we're

(02:55):
watching that unfold and of course talking with our US
customers daily and then over time accurse stamp may expand
out a little bit across into some of the other markets,
but you know, that's that's evolving pretty much on it.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
Well, it's fair to say, Matt Boulger that Derey's probably
faring better than red meat and wine for instance, probably
two of the segments or sectors that are going to
be hardest hit by these tariffs.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, I think that's I think that's here, Jammie. There
are you know, there are some markets that export there
into the United States now that would have an advantage
over us from a tariff point of view, Canada being
an obvious one. So you know, it's not something that
we're unconcerned about. But look, Richard Allen and his team,
they do a fantastic job of looking at, you know,

(03:39):
where we can sell products, and I guess having access
and relationships in markets all around the world means that
when there are challenges in one area, you know, we
do have options.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Okay, Matt Bolger, thank you very much for your time
managing Director of co Op Affairs from Fonterra onwards and
upwards for the twenty five twenty six Stairy season.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
That's us. Thanks Ammy,