Kiwi dairy farmers land €200,000 windfall after €2.7bn Fonterra payout

Each Fonterra farmer has been paid €325,000 on average by the co-op in April, consisting of the huge Mainland capital return, two dividends, and the regular monthly milk advance payment.

New Zealand firm Fonterra is one of the world's largest dairy companies, responsible for about 30% of global dairy exports, with annual turnover of more than €11 billion.

Christmas came in April for 8,000 dairy farmers in New Zealand.

Their decades of hard work have been rewarded by a windfall equivalent to €200,000, on average, following the recent sale of the Fonterra Co-op’s Mainland Group to Lactalis.