The planned merger of Avonmore Foods and Waterford Foods has cleared its second regulatory hurdle after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) cleared the merger under British mergers' legislation. The decision by the OFT is important as the merger makes Avonmore Waterford a powerful force in the British dairy industry, with 20 per cent of the British cheese market and a milk production in excess of that of both Northern Foods and Unigate - currently the biggest milk producers.