Agriculture product sales growth in US, China and South America enabled Skellerup to increase its agri division earnings despite the slightly softer New Zealand market, says chair Sir Selwyn Cushing.

Low milk prices have not only affected farmgate returns in New Zealand, they blew a $44 million hole last financial year in Fonterra's China farm business.

A Chinese corporation has made $73 million sales within 12 months of launching its New Zealand infant formula.

As Australian politicians haggle over endorsing a free trade agreement with China, farmers are warning that failure to ratify the deal will cost them up to A$18 billion over 10 years.

Dean Hamilton, SFF chief executive says the Shanghai Maling transaction has significant financial upside compared to the sketchy details in the mystery underwrite proposal put forward, with little real detail, by shareholder John Cochrane.

The recent media statements from shareholder John Cochrane are "a total unknown and should be treated with extreme caution" says Silver Fern Farms.

It's too early to write off China, says Hayden Dillon, head of corporate agribusiness for Crowe Horwath.

Since the SFF/Shanghai Maling deal was announced earlier last month some SFF shareholders, and other critics, have expressed concerns about the implications of foreign investment.

Claims that Silver Fern Farms approached the Government for funding and/or sought a meeting with Finance Minister Bill English for over a year have been debunked by the co-op's chair Rob Hewett.

Beef exports are up 46%($61 million) in August 2015 compared with August 2014, says Statistics New Zealand.