Fifty farms that account for 90,000 cows and produce 12% of Victoria’s annual milk production have signed individual option deals to sell their farms worth a collective $400 million to a consortium of investors led by an unnamed “major dominant state-owned, Beijing-based player” in the food industry that many believe to be COFCO Group or its subsidiary China Food. The Chinese-led consortium has been organized by the Tasmania-based developer Troy Harper through his company Linear Capital. The goal of the collective farms is to increase output by a minimum of 50% to supply two consortium-owned processing plants to be built in Western Victoria that will export $700 million worth of infant formula to China and other export markets. The newly established dairy business will be Australia’s largest dairy company at five times the size of Van Diemen’s Land Company in Tasmania which the Chinese Investment Corp. almost bought for $200 million last year. Mr. Harper also states that the company is in discussions to lease the former Glenormiston Agricultural College to be used as a dairy training facility. For other dairy processors in the region such as Saputo, Murray Goulburn, and Fonterra, the loss of the 500 million liters of milk these 50 farms produce annually will cause a supply disruption that will have to be addressed. To read further about other large, and collective dairy deals happening in Australia:
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free weekly enhanced eNews service