Under a trial by the farmer-owned Norco, farmers get 50-60¢ a litre for the milk, which is flown to China where consumers are prepared to pay between $8 and $9 a litre.
One shipment of 4500 litres from NSW two weeks ago had such an impact with environmentally-conscious middle-class Chinese, Norco has been swamped with inquiries from other importers.
The next order is for 20,000 litres but the aim is for millions of litres.
Desperate Queensland dairy farmers hope that it may help arrest the industry crash which has resulted in 100 farms being sold since Coles began the home brand milk wars in 2011.
Norco Co-op chief executive Brett Kelly said he was stunned at the result.
It had taken 18 months to get quality assurance and testing requirements in place to satisfy the Chinese, he said. The key was Australia’s clean and green reputation on world markets.
“The Chinese middle-class is renowned for being well educated, quite well off and focused on health, especially in regard to their children,’’ he said.
Kenilworth dairy farmer Peter Rough said every farmer was praying for the scheme to succeed.
Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation chief executive Adrian Peake said the need for another market was critical.
Source: Courier Mail