Compare with the UK car plants closing down production because they have nowhere left to store unsold car product!

But really, where else can Fonterra go except into developing markets? If they don’t the shareholders will find the great global monopoly no longer sets the price.

The excuse that they were minority shareholders (thats not by choice – its chinese law) is crap.
They (directors) should have immediately resigned if they really couldnt do anything else and gone public with the reason why they were resigning. Its not compulsory to remain a director of a company thats selling poison product – even in china.
The slack buggers didnt try to do anything about it as far as can be established. They didnt write to anybody (well no info has been realeased to say that they did – and Im sure they would have done so if thy had).
Of course they didnt take the honest way out (resign) because they would 1. loose their pay, 2. Fonterra wouldnt have reps on the board 3. they might loose their investment – well guess wht? – they’ve lost all those and more.

Its well established that Melamine is a serious poison. Only a year or so ago there was a rash of poisoning of dogs and cats in N. America because someone in china put melamine in pet food.
Anyone with half a clue would have immediatley saw serious danger when they learned their was melamine in the milk – like “it killed animals and we are animals so maybe it will kill humans”

Fonterra are boloody lucky they have lost as little as they have.

And i think I read somewhere that they are planning to do a deal in russia. Idiots. The russians are much smarter than the chinese about screwing. Ask Shell about their oil find in siberia. Shell paid to find the oil then the ruskies simply told them they were now minority shareholders.

An excellent point Murray. I recently moved to Hong Kong and its made front page news here, but not for the handing out of the death penalties to the two men, but for the fact that the death penalty WASN’T given to Tian Wenhua, who many see as responsible.

The politics (if it can be called that) in China is simple, they commited a crime, they now face the consequences. If China were as leanient as NZ is on crime (at almost 10% by these stats http://www.police.govt.nz/service/statistics/2007/fiscal/stats-national-20070630.pdf, and yes i know they’re a bit old) then you’re looking at 100′000′000 criminal activities.

And perhaps if NZ took a lesson from Chinas policy, this wouldn’t happen http://police.govt.nz/district/central/release/2799.html

Let’s be clear. Fonterra is not a cowboy. It would never have condoned this for a second had it known. It would not have gone into partnership with a cowboy. This was a serious venture into a promising market, using well-tried honest, up-front Kiwi principles.

The Chinese as we all know engage in questionable practices at all levels. I’m personally, highly suspicious of the fact this was kept under the rug until the Olympics were over and we all know why that might have been the case.

Personally, I see scapegoat written all over this, and the fact is, this is a disaster for NZ’s ability to weather the incoming global storm.

Scapegoat in the sense that while those executives that knew, ought to be punished, those that tried to blow the whistle but were prevented for political reasons ought to escape at least the uttermost severity. The people who actually did it, engaged in it, need to be bought to book. So far, I’ve seen two of those – the ones sentenced to die. Where are the bureaucrats who decided to delay the announcement till after the Olympics, the bureaucrats who presumably signed off the quality control, etc. Where are they?

If NZ can’t sort this out by making these distinctions clear to our Asian partners, we are fucked in the entire Asian market and guess what? This is the only market that can save us from the economic tsunami about to befall us with great fury in 2009.

Every time he appears on TV, the Greens go a little more red in the eyes of Kiwi voters.

Keep it up Keith!

New Zealand Dairy’s reputation in the market rests on the quality of it’s produce and to be knowingly involved in the toxic adulteration of milk would be economic suicide. They’ve had their fingers burned through this investment and don’t need to make any comment other than an expression of genuine regret for the victims of this criminal act.

This is just part of the ongoing smear campaign by the greens against the evil big business arch enemy Fonterra.

Ill bet none of the senior management ever travel to china again – a nasty surprise might await them.

restorative justice? (pfft)
sit around holding hands singing kum ba yah?

What’s appropriate Keith? – unlike you’re stance on Hamas, start giving you’re idea of solutions
– so we can really understand the true extent of your idiocy

Melamine is not crushed kitchen worktops. It is an ingredient of Formica, that is then used in kitchen worktops. That is a bit like saying toothpaste is made from crushed blackboard chalk.

I am not saying of course the Melamine is a good additive for food.

NZ is involved in this, and we don’t execute prisoners here, with good reason. So I think it is appropriate for the NZ government to mention to China that we find capital punishment abhorrent and ask them to reconsider this.

They’ll need a bit of media management training, methinks!

The Goof is exposed as an emperor without any clothes more as each day rolls on. Haven’t heard much from Cunliffe recently …. busily engaged sharpening knives perhaps?

Old friends network. I think they are culpable.

Time will tell.