July start planned for cartoned milk sales

Press, 26 February 1987, Page 15

July start planned for cartoned milk sales

Cartoned milk will not be available in Canterbury, until a£ least July. Milk"to iwb-litre plastic containers was be introduced to the Auckland market on Tuesday, at a cost 10f ; '51.64, about 7c more than trie equivalent amount in bottles. Canterbury,. Dairy Farmers, Ltd, would probably place its one-litre cardboard cartons In Christchurch supermarkets and dairies in July, but would wait to see the Auckland consumer reaction to the plastic containers, said the chief executive of the Christchurch milk supply firm, Mr Barry Hogan. Since October 1, 1986, supermarkets and dairies have been allowed to sell milk in cartons, but early ventures in Invercargill

and Auckland have only been getting a small percentage of city-wide milk sales. Many grocers have already questioned the high price of . the cartoned ( milk, which has been-set by the Milk Board in consultation with the Government at 89c a litre. The bottled equivalent is about 75c. Canterbury Dairy Fanners had set its carton price at 86c a litre as the fixed-price ' system allowed retailers to drop their prices as much as 3c a litre pack, said Mr Hogan. . / The company did not expect “huge money” to be made from the sales, but was not prepared to give up that market. He said Auckland suppliers would probably be

disappointed at the small volume of their sales. Milk from other centres would not be sold ini Christchurch until the Government deregulated the town milk industry. The company was also still putting the finishing touches to a design for the cartons, said Mr Hogan. Only the homogenised standard milk would be available to begin with, although a “trim milk” line might be launched later depending on consumer demand. Christchurch people would also be able to have cartoned milk delivered by their vendors, said Mr Hogan. Christchurch had an excellent milk vendor system, which the company was anxious to protect, he said.