Fonterra signed an agreement with the Government of Yutian County in China today, bringing the company’s plans to establish two new dairy farms one step closer to reality.
Fonterra China Managing Director Philip Turner said the agreement was a “positive step” in the negotiation process with Yutian County.
“We’ve always said that we believe the bulk of China’s growing demand for dairy will be met by locally produced milk,” he said.
“Our first farming operation in China, Tangshan Fonterra Farm, which was established in Hebei Province in 2007, has succeeded in demonstrating that we can produce high quality milk at good volumes, profitably.”
Mr Tuner said Fonterra hoped to build a safe and sustainable milk supply for their customers in China.
Yutian County is located around 115 kilometres from Fonterra’s Tangshan Farm. The farm was established as a pilot project to test Fonterra’s ability to produce New Zealand standard milk in China. Established with 3000 New Zealand cows, it has since grown to more than 5800 cows.
According to Fonterra, the farm produced around 25 million litres of milk last financial year.