Fonterra has issued a warning to farmers that they may have to meet sustainability expectations unless they want to face trade barriers and potentially lose customers.

Fonterra Chair Peter McBride and chief executive Miles Hurrell announced at the annual meeting in Rotorua that they would need to set (and stay within) targets for Scope 3 carbon emissions.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explained that because Fonterra works with farmers to create their products, the affiliated farmers would also be affected by these emissions regulations. 

Jamie Mackay also observed that sustainability is very important to consumers, so farmers would need to take emissions regulations seriously. 

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