Fonterra boss quizzed as concern over price of butter spreads

The cost of butter was front and centre at Parliament today as the head of Fonterra faced questions over the soaring cost of dairy.

Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell had several meetings with various political parties on Tuesday, including National, ACT, and Labour.

It included a sit-down conversation with Finance Minister Nicola Willis who was keen to probe the dairy boss about the cost of butter to consumers.

The price of butter has skyrocketed by more than 60% in the last year, currently sitting between $8 and $11 for a 500g block.

1News Political Editor Maiki Sherman grilled the Fonterra chief executive, who earns just under $6 million a year in salary, as he exited one of his meetings at Parliament.

Having asked to stop and talk for an interview, Hurrell replied he was on his way to another meeting.

Asked what he would say to New Zealanders who thought butter prices were too high, he said: “Let me talk to Minister Willis today, later this afternoon."

He was then asked whether $8 for a block of butter was too much. "Let me talk to Minister Willis," Hurrell reiterated.

The issue has raised eyebrows amongst the public who have been dismayed at the cost of butter in local supermarkets.

One man in Auckland told 1News, “You see everything is going up, look at the butter prices and everywhere.”

Another woman said, “Oh my God, butter, it's like double what it used to be.”

Another consumer asked what was behind the increase.

“Butter, all the basics, why does it have to cost this much in New Zealand?”

The issue also sparked a sharp interaction in Parliament’s debating chamber today between the two major party leaders, Labour and National.

“How many blocks of butter can he buy for the $60 a week he claims to spend on groceries?” Opposition leader Chris Hipkins asked Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

"Well, it's a smart-arse answer isn't it? Ah, question," Luxon replied.

The Finance Minister said the public wanted answers from the Fonterra boss.

“Well I think that Miles Hurrell has the opportunity to talk through what goes into the price of a block of butter and it's in his interests to do so," Willis said.

But whether Willis could influence dairy prices in any meaningful way was also up for question. The Finance Minister previously worked as a manager at Fonterra before becoming an MP.

“As a Government, we recognise there are complex drivers behind that. We have to address a number of things, the overall inflation rate; competition between our supermarkets; the costs that go into a block of butter,” she said.

Fonterra said the prices for its products were determined by the global dairy market, which was at a five-year high.

However, the Finance Minister said she wanted to know more about the margins both Fonterra and supermarkets added on top in order to reach the end shelf price.

"I'm interested in Fonterra's perspective about what the supermarket margins look like in New Zealand compared with say Australia or other countries," she said.

When asked by 1News, what sort of margins Fonterra was asking for when it came to the price of butter, the chief executive refused to say.

“Let me talk to the minister this afternoon,” he continued.

He did agree, however, that it was a big issue to Kiwi across the country at the moment.

“Yeah, of course it is,” he said.