Another record result for Westland
Not all milk processors in New Zealand are struggling; just look at Westland Milk Products on the West Coast.
When in Opposition, ‘Winston First’ used to enjoy standing on the sidelines criticising the sale of New Zealand companies to Chinese interests.
However, now that Peters’ party is in government it is forced to curb its ‘look-at-us’ xenophobia.
As political commentator Richard Harman says on his website politik.co.nz, “NZ First looks powerless to stop the takeover by Chinese dairy company Yili of the troubled Westland Co-op Dairy Company. They will have to stand back and let the independent Overseas Investment Office decide whether to approve the purchase [of Westland by Yili].”
When Shanghai Maling bought 50% of Silver Fern Farms in 2016 Peters kicked up merry hell, frothing at the mouth about foreign ownership, inciting the usual chorus of anti-Chinese sentiment from certain quarters.
Harman notes Peters’ response to the Westland deal is more... muted: “Peters said Westland shareholders were entitled to sell their assets to ‘who they might’.”
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
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