Crafar farms to run under 'Milk New Zealand'

The Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin has won the right to buy the 16 Crafar farms with the Court of Appeal rejecting a bid by Sir Michael Fay and a consortium to stop the sale.

The farms will be run by a joint venture company with Landcorp under the name of Milk New Zealand.

Landcorp chief executive Chris Kelly says they can now get on with the job of spending $16 million on upgrading the farms over the next three years.

"Pengxin own a number of high level supermarkets in China. They wish to use those as vehicles to sell the milk products with their own branding. Much of that money will be repatriated to New Zealand, you can't take land away from New Zealand in any event."

Sir Michael Fay's group has thrown in the towel in their fight to stop the sale.

The group's spokesman Alan McDonald says they are disappointed and the iwi members of the group are feeling disenfranchised by the whole process.

"I think our guys have come to the conclusion that they've fought a good fight, they've raised, they think, some pretty important issues. I don't think those issues are going to go away either, and now they just want to get on with the business of being farmers and looking after own interests in farming."

The Prime Minister has welcomed the Court of Appeal decision clearing the way for the purchase of the Crafar farms by Shanghai Pengxin.

John Key says it vindicates the original decision made by his ministers that the sale was the right one.

Mr Key says the sale will allow our milk a good distribution into China with the company owning a number of supermarkets there.

Meanwhile the failed bid to keep the Crafar Farms in New Zealand hands, has Labour calling for tougher standards for foreign investors to buy productive land.

Labour leader David Shearer says the Crafar sale is another example of National kowtowing to foreign investors and neglecting the needs of the rural heartland.

A Bill has been drafted by Mr Shearer that'd prevent foreigners from buying rural land unless they can prove it will bring substantial benefits to the country, that would not otherwise occur.

"Farmland and valuable farmland should be farmed by New Zealand farms and here what we've got is Landcorp farming on behalf of Shanghai Pengxin - we're effectively now tenants in our own land."

Photo: NZ Herald