Bonlac Foods is an Australian dairy company engaged in the conversion of raw milk into manufactured dairy products. The company has a strong cooperative heritage and is controlled by supplier shareholders. Bonlac was established in 1985 in response to the commercial forces that shaped the development of the Australian dairy industry. The company has a major presence in the dairy industries of Victoria and Tasmania. It was created through the merger of several smaller Victorian-based cooperatives. The merging cooperatives were small-scale operations with a regional marketing focus. Individually, their future capacity to achieve sustainable, competitive returns in the emerging trading environment was limited. Suppliers recognised that a combined entity had the potential to generate higher returns. In the period since 1985 Bonlac has developed into one of Australia's leading dairy companies. The growth in the business has reflected the market forces that have shaped the development of the Australian dairy industry. Some of the major factors that influenced the development of Bonlac Foods include: 1. changes in government policies 2. structural adjustment in the farm sector 3. rapid growth in the export focus of the industry By the late 1990s Bonlac had become a major player on the world dairy market accounting for about 5% of world trade (Leatherhead Food, 1997). In 1999-2000, total sales were around $1.2 billion and the annual milk intake reached 2.4 billion litres (BFL, 2001a). Bonlac was a major supplier of dairy products on the Australian market with a leading position in branded sales of cheese and butter.
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