KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (NNN-Bernama) — The dairy farming industry in New Zealand’s Northland region which is increasingly becoming competitive and resilient provides great opportunities for Malaysian investors seeking to develop a dairy processing plant with local partners.
President of New Zealand Malaysia Business Association (NZMBA) Dave Ananth noted the Northland region has a large land area suitable for dairy farming, besides a subtropical climate that supports stock growth in winter and spring.
He said Auckland based businessman Stuart Chapman, who is former managing director of Elders NZ, a business focusing mainly on livestock and wool, recently extended an invite to Malaysian investors to jointly develop a dairy processing plant on his farm in north of Auckland which is situated in Northland region.
“Demand for dairy products is accelerating strongly, particularly in developing countries, with New Zealand providing qualified investors the opportunity to have a direct investment in dairy farming in the best dairying regions of the country,” he told Bernama.
Dave, who is senior tax counsel with Stace Hammond Lawyers in Auckland, said he had the opportunity in joining Chapman and the Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand, Nur Izzah Wong Mee Choo, in visiting Chapman’s farm recently.
He said during the working tour organised by NZMBA, Chapman mentioned that he has obtained all the required approval from local council and government for the proposed dairy plant, adding that he has enough local milk supply and ready buyers overseas.
“The plant will be equipped with the latest technology capable of producing Ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT) of milk and butter and sweetened condensed milk besides having the capability of being halal-compliant.
“We have everything ready, all the boxes ticked, from the supply to the buyers. It will be a win-win situation for the local community and the investor. The north of New Zealand does need a milk processing plant, operating on its own, independent of the big players” he added.
Dave said the five acre site of the proposed dairy processing plant has sufficient water for milk production, adding that there has been extremely strict environmental assessment done for waste management.
There are approximately 780 active dairy farms in the Northland region, with an average herd size of 318 and average milk solids per cow of 350kg in the 2018/19 season. Dairy is the second-largest contributor to economic activity in Northland.
