Fonterra and Future Consumer have agreed to wind down their 50:50 India joint venture - Fonterra Future Dairy. The joint venture was established in 2018 and has 22 employees, all of which will receive appropriate entitlements.

According to the company, the last few years have been challenging for the joint venture with COVID-19 causing significant disruption to the Indian market. Despite this, the joint venture has delivered some important initiatives, including the launch of the Dreamery brand, which is a range of consumer products made using Indian milk, and distribution of Fonterra’s New Zealand Anchor Food Professionals products for the foodservice sector – both of which have received positive feedback from consumers and customers.

The Co-op entered the joint venture as a capital-light way to test the Indian market, with a large dairy consuming population but restrictive trade access for New Zealand dairy.

Commenting on this, Judith Swales, Asia Pacific chief executive officer, said, “We will continue to have a presence in India through Anchor Food Professionals and our Ingredients business, and will explore opportunities to grow access for our New Zealand milk as they come up.”