Dairy co-operative Fonterra processed 86.9 million litres of milk at the peak of this milking season.
Fonterra tanker in Takanini, South Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Fonterra said a record amount of this peak milk has been turned into value added products like cheese and long-life UHT milk this season.
Global operations managing director Robert Spurway said new plants which came into operation this season had helped the co-operative process milk into different products.
Mr Spurway said a new dryer at Pahiatua and three plants at Edendale were opened this August to help to process milk powders. A new mozzarella plant at Clandeboye had doubled the co-operative's capacity to make the cheese, one of its most in-demand food service products.
He said a new milk powder dryer was being built at Lichfield and a cheese slice factory at Eltham, both of which were expected to be up and running by this time next year.