Cream of Australia’s dairy industry attracting international and local interest

Jonathan ChancellorJune 24, 2012

Australia’s dairy farms are attracting the attention of the top end of town along with international interest.

The Macquarie Group has set up an agricultural fund to?buy dairy farms.

To be known as Harris Dairies, the fund has former Norco Co-operative chief executive Murray Richardson and former Warakirri Dairies chief executive Robert Burbury among its directors.

Macquarie Group declined to advise the Australian Financial Review on how much it aims to raise for the fund.

The move coincides with New Zealand’s $700 million New Plymouth District Council seeking to raise $200?million to expand its Australian dairying vehicle, Van Diemen’s Land Company.

It is based at Woolnorth Station in Tasmania’s north-west.

In Western Australia, China's top beverage producer Hangzhou Wahaha Group, chaired by China’s third-richest man, Zong Qinghou, is planning to invest up to $220 million in dairy farms.

“Our investment in Australia’s dairy farms and related industry will guarantee stable supply of quality milk powder,” Zong Qinghou advised.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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