The Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) was formally constituted at a meeting in Wellington on 18 July 2003.
The five foundation members were Fonterra Co-operative Group, Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company, Westland Milk Products, Mainland Products and Goodman Fielder. In the years since, Open Country Cheese, NZ Dairies and Synlait have joined while Fonterra Brands (NZ) has replaced Mainland Products.
The Association was formed so members could work collectively on public policy issues of importance to dairy companies and could engage in advocacy and representation with authorities in New Zealand and overseas.
Policy issues include anything that might impact on the production, manufacturing, trade and marketing of dairy products, including issues affecting the public perception of dairy products. While most of these issues are “beyond the farm gate”, such as the Doha Round of WTO agriculture negotiations, there are others, such as environmental management and animal welfare practices, which also fall within the scope of DCANZ’s interests.
