New Zealand: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group to invest in Oceania Dairy production base

The Chinese dairy producer Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd is to invest  NZ$400 million ($327 million) in dairy production in New Zealand.

The first phase has seen the establishment of a dairy base located in Waimate, South Island, New Zealand at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan ($200 million), as part of an investment in Oceania Dairy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yili.

The proposed operation also includes investments in four dairy projects in New Zealand and is reportedly aimed at building the world’s largest integrated dairy production base. The project covers the construction of a raw milk processing plant, a UHT milk plant, a milk powder plant and a packaging plant at the base.

In addition to this project, Yili has signed an agreement with Lincoln University of New Zealand to focus research on how to improve the nutrition and quality of dairy products. China.org.cn reports that Chinese consumers are increasingly opting for imported dairy products following the melamime-tainted infant formula scandal of 2008.

Source: Yili / China.org.cn