Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said the DIRA would be retained and reviewed again in depth in 2020-21, two decades after it came into effect to regulate the then near-monopoly of Fonterra in the dairy industry.
His new Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill also contained alterations to the eligibility to buy regulated milk from Fonterra for big, export-focused processors, from the start of the 2019-20 season.
That might mean Fonterra would not be obligated to sell milk to Oceania Dairy in South Canterbury, owned by Inner Mongolia Yili Group, and Yashili NZ Dairy at Pokeno, South Auckland.
The eligibility of big domestic competitor Goodman Fielder and many smaller dairy operators to take milk from Fonterra had been retained for the time being, pending more work on downstream competitiveness by officials.
Fonterra argued strongly for an end to its legislative obligation to collect all new milk and to sell at a regulated price to export competitors, though it did not believe DIRA should go entirely.
