Kiwi fresh milk brand launches in China

New Zealand companies are airfreighting up to 10 tonnes of fresh milk a week to China, with the latest exporter to enter the market former Federated Farmers chief executive Conor English.
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Auckland-based company Oravida has been exporting fresh milk to China for several years. One of its directors is the husband of National MP Judith Collins.
English, who runs a company called Agribusiness New Zealand, said he had launched his Southern Pure brand just four weeks ago, using online channels to market it, and pricing it between $8 and $12 a litre.
Chinese milk costs $3 to $5.50 a litre, depending on the brand.
The milk is aimed at wealthy Chinese worried about recent scandals over milk quality and even deaths after products like melamine were added to milk.
«It’s taken a lot to get over the line,» English said. «It’s been a massive learning curve with all the protocols and approvals from the Chinese authorities, and the logistics of sending and storing it.»
New Zealand exporters compete with Australian, Korean and Japanese for the Chinese fresh milk market. Queensland dairy company Norco has recently started exporting, saying it hoped to build its fresh milk exports to China to 20 million litres a year.
«It’s taken a long time to reach the point where we are flying the stuff. It’s an exciting opportunity but there are risks and you need systems to ensure the integrity of your products,» English said.
«It’s a niche product. The good thing about the milk is that people experience what we New Zealanders do – a fresh clean, free-range product,» he said.
English and Oravida both source their milk from independent dairy company Green Valley, based at Mangatawhiri, south of Auckland.
Green Valley general manager Corrie den Haring said his company was exporting up to 10 tonnes a week to China on behalf of Oravida, English and four other companies, although the quantity varied week to week.
» It’s a growing market but it has its challenges. You certainly need some Chinese partners to weave and duck and move your way through,» den Haring said.
«I think New Zealand companies have a way of doing business and they think that’s how the rest of the world does business, but you go somewhere else and say ‘hmmm, this isn’t quite working’,» he said.
An airfreight logistics company spokesman said 10 tonnes of milk would equate to about 10,000 litres. A large airline would have no difficulty in transporting up to 25 tonnes of milk, he said.
Den Haring said the milk was sold in a variety of ways – online, through high-end supermarkets in Shanghai and Guangzhou, or the Oravida Showcase New Zealand store in central Shanghai, which also sold wine, meat and seafood.
Shanghai residents have more of a taste for milk, with 80 per cent of them using it at breakfast time, compared to only 15 per cent of Beijing residents.
Den Haring said the Chinese saw New Zealand as a desirable supplier of food products, and were very brand conscious.
«If you try to sell them something New Zealand doesn’t have a name for, it would be difficult. You wouldn’t try to sell them pasta, for example.»
He said the exported milk was processed off farms which were owned or part-owned by Green Valley, giving the milk a «level of provenance» for Chinese consumers.
 
 
Source: Stuff

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Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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