中国乳制品月报

Welcome to the December issue of Dairy Products China News.

Sad to note last month the untimely death of Jiang Weisuo, the famous whistlebower on China’s dairy industry, after an assault in Shaanxi. He raised considerable concerns and of course no little controversy about malpractice and adulteration in the country’s dairy industry back in 2006. His position appears prescient given events since then and inevitably there has been speculation that he was murdered due to his ongoing stance on such matters. One of this month’s stories notes the push by the government of Anhui Province for tighter food safety supervision locally which involves protection for whistlebowers – Mr Jiang would have approved.

We have also recently seen closure on the Crafar farms deal in New Zealand, with Shanghai Pengxin finally proving successful in its NZ$200million acquisition and intending to supply Fonterra prior to starting its own processing in North Island. This is part of a wider trend to develop supply bases in areas such as Africa and Australasia. Another recent instance has been the A$700 million investment by Shanghai Zhongfu in leasing 13,000 hectares for sugar production in Western Australia. In September we saw an executive team from China Investment Corp, which is estimated to have $US190 billion to invest outside its home market, visit Tasmania, with investments in dairy and local water rights under discussion. Whatever the deals which are struck, how overseas investments and supply arrangements are communicated to the market will come under increased scrutiny – this month’s coverage on Nouriz highlights the dangers of getting it wrong!