Australian investment advisor Adrian Rowley has assembled a team of directors and has form Australian Dairy Farms (ADF), which plans to be the first Australian dairy farm company traded on the ASX beginning next month. The company owns two farms in south-west Victoria and plans to buy 14 more with the goal of producing 50 million liters of milk annually by 2016. ADF has engaged Bell Porter to raise up to $14.5 million and plans to tap into the high Asian demand for dairy products which Australia’s commodities forecasting agency, ABARES predicts will remain strong. Between 2007 and 2011 China tripled its dairy imports, and currently demand stands at 10 billion liters per year, or more than Australia’s national production. By being a listed entity, Mr. Rowley states that ADF will have the available credit and cash flow in order to reduce risks faced by the majority of the dairy farm industry in the country which is family-owned. The company plans to operate larger-scale farms with a minimum of 500 cows each and aims to become the country’s largest milk producer.
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