New Zealand's Fonterra COO of consumer and food service business quits

[BENGALURU] New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra on Tuesday said the chief operating officer (COO) of its consumer and food service business, Lukas Paravicini, has resigned.

Mr Paravicini is set to leave the company in January 2019 and he and his family plan to return to Europe, Fonterra said.

The world's largest dairy exporter is going through a tough period of late with the company posting its first annual loss in the year ended July, hurt by higher milk prices and one-off charges from its Chinese joint venture.

Fonterra has been shifting from its staple milk powder shipments business to selling value-added consumer products like yoghurt and cheese to ride out volatile global dairy prices.

But that strategy backfired when higher-than-projected input prices added additional costs to the firm's consumer and ingredients businesses.

Fonterra last month lowered the price for farmgate milk - the price it pays farmers - due to a glut in global milk supply.

REUTERS