Winston Peters calls Fonterra vote result 'utter madness'
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
Fonterra is a step closer to buying a cornerstone stake in leading Chinese infant food manufacturer, Beingmate.
China’s Ministry of Commerce has now granted anti-trust and strategic foreign investment approval for the proposed partnership.
In a statement Fonterra says further regulatory approvals are required before it proceeds to the next stage which is a partial tender offer to gain up to 20% of Beingmate.
Fonterra says it will provide further updates as the partnership progresses.
Last year Fonterra announced it was teaming up Beingmate to tap into China’s growing demand for infant formula.
 Fonterra and Beingmate intend to form a global partnership to supply infant formula.
The partnership will create a fully integrated global supply chain from the farmgate direct to China’s consumers, using Fonterra’s milk pools and manufacturing sites in New Zealand, Australia, and Europe; this will lead to increase glow of Fonterra’s ingredients and branded products exported to China.
The partial tender offer to gain up to a 20% stake in Beingmate is the first phase of the JV; after gaining regulatory approvals and Fonterra satisfactorily completing the partial tender offer, Fonterra and Beingmate will set up a joint venture to purchase Fonterra’s Darnum plant in Australia and will establish a distribution agreement to sell Fonterra’s Anmum brand in China.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings last year said that the partnership between two leading dairy nutrition companies will be a game changer that will provide a direct line into the infant formula market in China, which is the biggest growth story in paediatric nutrition in the world.
 The infant formula market in China is worth about $18 billion today and is expected to be worth $33 billion by 2017. This growth is driven by increasing urbanisation, higher disposable incomes, a preference for premium brands, and relaxation of the one child policy.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
OPINION: Microplastics are turning up just about everywhere in the global food supply, including in fish, cups of tea, and…
OPINION: At a time when dairy prices are at record highs, no one was expecting the world's second largest dairy…