New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has completed the sale of its two wholly owned China farming hubs in Ying and Yutians to Inner Mongolia Youran Dairy, a subsidiary of China Youran Dairy Group, for NZD $552 million.
CEO Miles Hurrel said the completion of the sale marked as ‘important milestone’ for Fonterra following its strategic refresh.
“Fonterra has contributed to the development of the Chinese dairy industry by establishing these farms and we’re pleased to now hand ownership over to Youran for the next phase of development.
“The China market is fast moving and inspires us to keep innovating. Our China team will now continue with their focus on creating value from our New Zealand farmers’ milk through new products, applications and close partnerships with our customers.
“As we’ve seen from our recent FY21 interim financial results, our China business is performing very well, underpinned by strong demand for New Zealand dairy driven by our team on the ground.
“With these foundations, we are well placed to continue to grow our Greater China Foodservice, Consumer and Ingredients businesses.”
Fonterra also announced that the completion of the sale of its 85% interest in the Hangu farm to minority shareholder Beijing Sanyuan Venture Capital ‘is progressing and is expected to be completed this financial year’.
