Nutritional milk powder company confident China regulatory ban will soon be lifted, as $10 million expansion concludes

The head of a South Gippsland infant formula manufacturer says he is confident a temporary regulatory ban into China will soon be lifted. By Bridget Fitzgerald
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Viplus Dairy is close to completing a $10 million expansion at its factory in Toora, 180 kilometres south east of Melbourne.
The expansion will support an increase in production, but the company has been cut off from its biggest market since Chinese trade authority, CNCA, halted imports on November 4.
Viplus Dairy chief executive Peter Cunningham said the CNCA asked the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAF) to inspect and audit the company.
But he said Viplus met all DAF requirements, and the company was now just waiting for the CNCA to review the DAF report.
«What we’re waiting for is CNCA to speak to the Department of Agriculture to say ‘those restrictions are off’,» he said.
Mr Cunningham said Viplus «was not fully aware» why there was a halt in trade.
He said the company has not imported any product into China since November 4.
But he said he expected the restrictions to be lifted soon and for the company to continue trade as normal.
Viplus Dairy manufactures nutritional milk powders and infant formula from base milk powder products, mainly sourced from dairy processors Burra Foods and Fonterra.
Peter Cunningham said the upgrades at the Toora factory included a 4,000 square metre warehouse and robotic packing equipment.
He said the expansion had cost the company in excess of $10 million and was necessary for the company to keep up with demand.
Viplus currently produces about 20,000 tonnes of nutritional powder a year.
But Mr Cunningham said the upgrades would grow that capacity to approximately 30,000 tonnes.
«We’re looking to grow as quickly as possible to get the full benefit of the money that’s been pumped into the plant,» he said.
«[Then we can] grow that output capacity.»
Viplus Dairy exports about 80 per cent of its output each year with key markets in China and Papua New Guinea.
But Mr Cunningham said he was «dealing with several other countries» at the moment, working on building up new export markets in Asia.
 
Source: ABC
Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-24/viplus-dairy-china-halt/8053214
 

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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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