increase font size
Shanghai Pengxin has been vilified over the years for its strategy of buying farms in New Zealand.
It was good to see Shanghai Pengxin open its doors last week.
The Chinese company invited dairy industry leaders to hear what they've done with the former Crafar farms and to see some of the changes on two of them.
Shanghai Pengxin has been vilified over the years for its strategy of buying farms in New Zealand.
They rightly question the rules and decisions governing the purchase of NZ land and imply the Chinese are treated differently from other nationalities who also buy NZ farms.
Some critics of Chinese land buying pose the question, since Kiwis are prohibited from buying land in China why should Chinese nationals be allowed to buy land here? Maybe there is some validity to that, but would a long term leasing arrangement address this issue?
Some Kiwis seem to think the Chinese, in particular Shanghai Pengxin, will somehow take over Aotearoa, making us tenants in our own country. The critics fear something insidious in China's buying 'spree'.
But we don't hear of such angst when a wealthy opptortunist Israeli, Australian, Brit or American buys a bit of NZ. With Donald Trump attracting huge support in the US presidential race one has to wonder whether NZ has more to fear from the US than from China.
In fact, Shanghai Pengxin has done a lot of good for the NZ dairy industry. It has brought up to standard 16 dairy farms that clearly needed massive cash injection. $20 million has been spent on the farms and that money has gone to local suppliers. Surely that's good news.
Shanghai Pengxin has worked well with its joint venture partner Landcorp to manage these farms to achieve their potential. And they have entered another joint venture with the Maori dairy company Miraka to produce UHT milk for the Chinese market. This has created many well paid jobs for NZers.
As part of its deal with the OIO, Shanghai Pengxin last week opened a $1 million academy to train future leaders.
The programme is fully funded by Pengxin NZ Farm Management so attendance is free for all participating students; it will also award annual 'Theland' scholarships worth $10,000
Shanghai Pengxin can rightly feel aggrieved at the way it is sometimes dismissed as being bad for NZ. The reality is quite the opposite and perhaps the critics need to get out of their glasshouses in the cities and see the reality in the country.
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact that, now more than ever, US farmers are being propped up by government welfare – a direct result of Trump’s hardline on its trading partners.
China looks set to play a key role in helping the New Zealand wool sector shift away from trading as a commodity supplier.
If you find a new consumer in a developed wine market, you are taking them from someone else, says Blank Canvas co-founder Sophie Parker-Thomson MW.
The large 2025 harvest will exacerbate the wine industry's "lingering" supply from recent vintages, New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Philip Gregan told attendees at Grape Days events around the country in June.
A Chinese business leader says Chinese investors are unfairly viewed as potential security risks in New Zealand.
With the current situation in the European farm machinery market being described as difficult at best, it’s perhaps no surprise that the upcoming AgriSIMA 2026 agricultural machinery exhibition, scheduled for February 2026 at Paris-Nord Villepinte, has been cancelled.
The Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) has launched the first in-market activation of the refreshed Taste Pure Nature country-of-origin brand with an exclusive pop-up restaurant experience in Shanghai.
Jayna Wadsworth, daughter of the late New Zealand wicketkeeper Ken Wadsworth, has launched an auction of cricket memorabilia to raise funds for I Am Hope's youth mental health work.
As we move into the 2025/26 growing season, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that the third quarter results for the year to date is showing that the stagnated tractor market of the last 18 months is showing signs of recovery.
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown is urging dairy farmers to participate in the 2026 Levy vote, to be held early next year.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling for nominations for director roles in the Eastern North Island and Southern South Island electoral districts.
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…
