The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries today notified the Auckland-based company that Chinese authorities were lifting temporary import bans on its base powder for infant formula and whey powder, Fonterra said in a stock exchange filing. The suspension had been in place since August 2013.
The products were suspended amid a whey protein scare that prompted recalls across Asia by baby formula makers, such as Danone and Abbott Laboratories. Fonterra said its whey protein may have been tainted with a potentially fatal botulism-causing bacteria. The incident was later proved to be a false alarm.
“The temporary suspension is going to be lifted from the first of November,” said Brad Young, a spokesman for New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries. He confirmed that the agency received notice from Chinese authorities that the ban would be lifted and passed that onto Fonterra today.
The press office of China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
Fonterra said Aug. 27 that it would pay NZ$615 million ($482 million) for a stake in Chinese infant formula maker, Beingmate Baby & Child Food Co. (002570) as it seeks to tap the country’s lucrative baby milk market. The companies also plan to start a joint venture to buy Fonterra’s Darnum plant in Australia and craft a distribution deal to sell the Fonterra baby milk brand, Anmum, in China.
China’s baby formula market is projected to more than double from last year to 191.3 billion yuan($31 billion) by 2017, according to Euromonitor International.
Fonterra shares were unchanged today in Wellington trading. The stock has gained 8.5 percent this year, compared with a 14 percent increase in the benchmark NZX 50 Gross Index.
Source: Bloomberg