That compares with a 2% drop in the total New Zealand milk production for 2012/13.
Chief executive Rod Quin said Westland, NZ’s second biggest dairy co-operative, processed nearly 670 million litres of milk.
“The production figure is a credit to the resilience of our shareholder-suppliers in what has been a tough season for many and to staff who have initiated changes at the Hokitika factory to allow milk processing all year round without the traditional shutdown period.”
Despite the West Coast being severely affected by a drought this season, Quin said Coast suppliers held their own, keeping production to much the same levels as the previous year.
Westland also benefited from the production of its Canterbury shareholders who had the advantage of irrigated properties.
Quin said the major changes within the company to allow for year-round production plus the first ever offer to shareholders of the option to milk through the traditional dry season have brought about a new era in Westland’s production processes.
It puts the company on a solid footing to meet the increasing demand for its products, especially its new range of high-end nutritionals destined mainly for China.
“This year we have four farms supplying milk right through the traditional off-season,” Quin said.
“Feedback from these suppliers has been positive and the benefits to the co-operative are flowing through as expected. Plans are under way for this opportunity to continue in future seasons when we expect the take up of milking-through will be higher.”
