Chinese covet cattle stations
CHINA'S ravenous demand for Australian beef could soon lead to some major cattle station purchases, with one of several Chinese importers, Snow Dragon Group, looking to buy land.HT: farmlandgrab
Snow Dragon, owned by the Xuelong Industrial Group based in Dalian in northern China, has been importing about $7 million worth of high-grade chilled Angus beef from Australia every year for the last three years.
It is one of many that have seen the dollar value of Australian beef and veal exports to China surge 3273 per cent in the past five years, according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
Snow Dragon director of quality management Chen Hong, who oversees a 10,000-head feedlot in Dalian, said the company wanted to rapidly expand and "co-operate in a closer way" with Australia.
"Because supply is less than demand we had to start importing beef from Australia," Mr Chen said through an interpreter. "We hope we can import more beef from Australia.
"We have a plan to purchase farmland in Australia soon. The details are to be decided by the board."...MUCH MORE
