The high price of milk and the fact companies don’t know exactly how much they will have to pay for their milk when they set their prices, has led to another cheese factory closing, this time in the Hawkes Bay.

Nine fulltime staff, as well as some part-timers, were laid off when the Te Mata cheese factory and café closed its doors for good last week.  

Kaimai Cheese Company executive director Wyatt Creech says the company has been forced to close the Te Mata cheese factory and café that it bought in 2009, after being burnt by the current high price of milk.

“Well it‘s a mix of factors but the high price of milk has meant a very high price of product.

“Volumes have fallen and in addition to that the way milk is charged we have to pay a back-up payment at the end of the year. Long before we know what the price of the milk is we have to sell the product.

“So we’re really in a very difficult commercial situation and the only way we can deal with it is to downsize our operations and focus on being a small artisan high quality cheese maker, which is where we started.”