WCB discussion needed PrintIncrease Text SizeDecrease Text Size09 Nov, 2013 04:00 AMLOUISE PREECE South West Victorian dairy farmer Roma Britnell says the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter takeover will have a huge impact on the entire industry. She is hoping a meeting - to be hosted by United Dairy Farmers of Victoria on Monday November 11 at Warrnambool - will create “robust” discussion about the best way forward for the sector.South West Victorian dairy farmer Roma Britnell says the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter takeover will have a huge impact on the entire industry. She is hoping a meeting - to be hosted by United Dairy Farmers of Victoria on Monday November 11 at Warrnambool - will create “robust” discussion about the best way forward for the sector. THE corporate activity surrounding Warrnambool Cheese & Butter (WCB) has prompted a group of farmers to lay the facts on the table for the industry. South West Victorian dairy farmer Roma Britnell - who is also a United Dairy Farmers of Victoria (UDV) policy councillor - has organised a meeting next Monday night at Warrnambool to generate discussion about the best outcome for the industry. The Murray Goulburn (MG) supplier says the events unfolding in her region with WCB will have a significant impact on the entire dairy industry. Whether the WCB business will taken over by the foreign-owned dairy giant Saputo, farmer-owned co-operative MG or the Australian-owned publically listed company Bega Cheese, the takeover activity has generated plenty of debate. Some farmers are concerned about foreign ownership while others say the industry needs competition. Mrs Britnell says now is right time to have a meeting to discuss these issues so farmers can make an informed decision about what should happen. Since suggesting the idea last week, she has not been off the phone for four or five days. Her personal view is that if Australia wants to be competitive in the international market, it needs a strong and large dairy co-operative. A lot of people are saying the MG merger could create a lack of competition but I say it will build scale, she said. We are on the edge of an Asian boom and we need scale to meet demand. We are a global world. It shouldnt be western Victoria trying to play against each other - it should be Australia competing against the world. But what about the impact of a locally owned co-operative taking on a large amount of debt? Mrs Britnell said if MG bought WCB at $7.50 a share, it would cost the co-op a total of $420 million. At an interest rate of six per cent, the new merged turnover would be approximately $3.1 billion. The interest component would be $20 million, which is less than 1pc of the new turnover of the business, she said.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 23:04:26 +0000
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