The body representing dairy companies in New Zealand, DCANZ, is expanding as more dairy processors join up.
Chairman Malcolm Bailey said DCANZ has taken on four new members in the past 18 months: the Dairy Goat Co-operative, milk powder manufacturer Gardians (now owned by French food giant Danone), and the Chinese-owned processors Oceania Dairy in South Canterbury and Yashili in Waikato.
Mr Bailey said the association now represents companies accounting for more than 98 percent of the milk processed in New Zealand and nearly all dairy exports.
To cope with the expansion DCANZ's part-time executive director Kimberly Crewther would become fulltime from next year.