Woolworths Liquor Group, Brad Banducc
The managing director of Woolworths Liquor Group, Brad Banducci, says Summergate, the large alcoholic drinks distributor in China which has just been acquired by the company, was able to increase sales in the past three months despite a tough market.
The acquisition is one of the first by Woolworths overseas as it lifts its focus from its domestic operations, where it is battling slowing sales in its core supermarkets business and heavy losses in its Masters hardware operations. Mr Banducci declined to comment on the price.
Woolworths runs the 189-store Dan Murphy’s liquor chain and the BWS chain, with 1230 outlets, in Australia as part of a liquor division which generates sales of $7.4 billion annually.
Mr Banducci said austerity measures imposed by Chinese authorities had crimped sales across the market in China but Summergate had been able to “hold the line”, and in the past three months had been able to increase sales.
He said Summergate generates annual sales of around US$40 million.”Its managed to actually hold the line, and in the last three months has managed to grow.”
Summergate is one of China’s top drinks distributors and represents a portfolio of around 80 global brands, including Concha y Toro and Chateau Masur. It also includes a small fine wine retail business, Pudao, with two stores in Shanghai and Beijing, along with a small online and direct retail operation. Founders to stay Summergate has 13 offices and 11 distribution centres and employs more than 400 people. It was established in Shanghai in 1999 by two businessmen, Ian Ford and Brendan O’Toole. They will remain with the business for at least three years.
He said negotiations had been going on for up to a year, and the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between China and Australia was an added bonus over the past few weeks as negotiations were finalised.”The FTA has made it all the more interesting,” he said. It would “absolutely” enhance the deal.
Mr Banducci said it was a low-risk way for Woolworths to start building a bigger business in China, but it was a strategically important acquisition. “It is strategically important. It is an opportunity for us to build a long-term business in a market which has huge opportunity and is close to us,” he said.
Mr Banducci said Woolworths intended to launch the Langton’s fine wine business which it owns in Australia, into the Chinese market as part of the strategic plans for expansion.
Woolworths’s liquor division has been one of the grocery chain’s top performers as it’s being outpointed by rival Coles in supermarket sales. Woolworths’s Masters home-building centre chain is also incurring heavy losses, with a break-even point having been pushed out further and investors are troubled by the amount of capital it is soaking up, and the impact on overall returns at Woolworths. ‘Conservative’ approach Woolworths chief executive Grant O’Brien said on Wednesday the company would always be very conservative on international acquisitions.
“We have a conservative investment lens, particularly in relation to international acquisition opportunities,” Mr O’Brien said.Mr Banducci said the wider Woolworths Liquor Group was trading solidly in the lead-up to the crucial Christmas period. “We’re optimistic for Christmas,” he said.
Woolworths runs the Dan Murphy’s superstore chain, BWS chain and owns 75 per cent of the ALH pubs joint venture.Mr Banducci said he had known the two principals of Summergate for almost two decades.”I’ve actually known the founders of the business for a long time,” he said. He said Summergate’s main business was in the wholesaling of liquor.
Summergate general manager and founder Ian Ford said that he and his co-founder Brendan “are both very proud that a company of the calibre of Woolworths Liquor Group has chosen to acquire our great business.
“I personally look forward to the years aheadcontinuing to lead and guide our fantastic group of people, striving to be the preferred partner to all stakeholders in the industry,” Mr Ford said in a statement.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/woolworths-buys-china-liquor-business-summergate-20141203-11ywsk.html#ixzz3KoLQ9gU3
Vietnam Livestock production in 2014 has growth relatively high
Livestock industry in Vietnam has growth strongly, it’s estimated increasing by 4-5% compared with 2013. In which, pig industry increases nearly by 3%, poultry up 5%, dairy up 12% and feed industry up 6%. This year, livestock production has good price, the average price of live pig is VND47,000-52,000 per kg, the farmers get high profit.
Livestock structure has been converting towards high concentrated farms. Increasing linked models in livestock production such as farming cooperatives and closed chain of clean eggs or meat products in Hanoi, Ha Nam, Bac Giang Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, etc.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://channuoivietnam.com/nganh-chan-nuoi-nam-2014-co-dau-hieu-khoi-sac/
CP Vietnam Corporation provides nearly 300,000 tons of pork per year.
According to the CP Vietnam Corp, the company is expanding linked farming model to provide 300,000 tons of pork each year to the market. The size of pig farm is 1,000-10,000 pigs. CP Vietnam also linked with farmers to produce PS sows with the size of 600-2,400 sows. Currently, CP owns total approximated 200,000 sows with the average capacity of 23.5 weaned/ sow/ year. The amount of pork that CP supplies to the market is equal with the amount of pork in Dong Nai province.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://www.baodongnai.com.vn/tintuc/201411/cp-cung-cap-gan-300-ngan-tan-thit-heonam-2355157/
Huiyuan Juice eyes Australian farms
China Huiyuan Juice Group Limited, the largest privately owned juice producer in China, plans to invest in the agricultural resources in Australia by acquiring one or two farms. The company is studying the acquisition details.
“Huiyuan has long planned to invest in Australian agriculture. We visited five farms in Australia this year, and we are going to buy one or two of them,” said Zhu Xinli, chief executive of China Huiyuan Juice Group Limited. “The company is researching the potential product output of the Australian farms we will buy. We might foster cows, sheep, grains, or import finished products to China.”
The Hong Kong-listed juice producer’s major products range from fruit juice, vegetable juice, to bottled water, tea drinks and dairy drinks. In addition to beverage producing, the company enlarged its layout at the agricultural sector this year, gearing at health preserving agriculture. Currently, the company is actively setting up its up stream industry by investing in 19 agricultural projects in 13 provinces nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Beijing-based juice manufacturer will expand its business in pasture investment. In October, the company imported dairy cows that worthy more than 50 million yuan ($8.14 million) from New Zealand into a demonstration base in Heilongjiang province in Northeast China. Huiyuan is going to put in an additional 2 billion yuan in constructing production lines of juice and dairy products, as well as building agricultural ecological park in Heilongjiang province.
Zhu said the investment in farms and pastures will provide high quality organic fertilizers and guarantee the food safety of Huiyuan products. He said the company plans to build more agricultural bases in Europe, Africa and Oceania in the near future.
Analysts said the significance of the upstream value of juice products has not get enough awareness from the public compared to dairy products, and it will become increasingly prominent amid food safety concerns.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-11/26/content_18980797.htm
Chinese health food producer to acquire company in NZ
Nanjing Sinolife United Co., one of the leading health food producers in China, announced plans on Sunday to buy a New Zealand company.
Shanghai Weiyi, a limited liability company 60 percent owned by Sinolife, will conduct the acquisition of the New Zealand-based Good Health Products Ltd., according to the announcement.
The deal is estimated at over 23 million New Zealand dollars (18 million US dollars).
Good Health has a substantial market share in New Zealand and Australia and has established an online sales network in Asia including China’s Hong Kong, Singapore and the Republic of Korea, which is attractive to Sinolife as it is eager to expand abroad.
Sinolife board chairman, Gui Pinghu, expects both sides to gain from the deal and for it to change the traditional cooperative model between Chinese and foreign companies.
Sinolife was listed on the Hong Kong bourse in January.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/893243.shtml
Chinese industries influenced by Sino-Australia FTA
While China finalized negotiations with Australia on a landmark free trade agreement, after nearly a decade of talks, it is still in the process of striking similar deals with other countries.
The Sino-Australian FTA could show how similar agreements would bring long-lasting effects to participating countries. Let’s take a look at which industries in China would be affected.
Dairy industry
According to the FTA, China will levy zero tariffs on dairy products from Australia in four years’ time while the current rate is 10 to 15 percent.
Wang Dingmian, a dairy expert, told 21st Century Business Herald that the zero-tariff treatment will have “some” influence on China’s domestic dairy industry, but it will not be “very large” because the volume China imports from Australia is small and the price of Australian dairy products does not have an advantage over those of New Zealand, which is the largest source of China’s dairy imports.
According to statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China, the country imported 30,267.82 tons of milk power from Australia, accounting for just 3.72 percent of all imports.
However, discussion has already begun on whether zero-tariff treatment will usher in price cuts for imported dairy products or whether the move will disadvantage China’s high-end dairy products makers. There are also voices that say the move will encourage Chinese companies to invest in the Australian dairy industry. China’s New Hope Group announced on Nov 18 that the company will invest A $500 million in Australia’s agriculture and food industry, including the dairy industry.
Wine industry
China will lower its tariff on imported wine from Australia year by year and finally levy none in 2019, according to the FTA between China and Australia.
The country imported $182 million worth of wine from Australia in the first nine months of this year under the current tariff rate of 14 to 30 percent, making Australia China’s second largest partner country, according to statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China.
For China’s importers, the Sino-Australian FTA has brought “confidence”, according to Guo Haibing, general manager of Shandong Smart International Consulting Company, which sells Australian wine. This may later result in a change in market share of Australian wine in China, Guo added.
Manufacturing
China has cut benchmark interest rates for the first time since July 2012 in an effort to prop up growth as the economy continues to slow.
Effective from Saturday, the one-year benchmark lending rate will be lowered by 40 basis points to 5.6 percent and the one-year benchmark deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent, the People’s Bank of China said on Friday.
The adjustment comes after figures showed that manufacturing activity in the country is nearing contraction. According to the FTA, Australia will impose no tariff for all goods from China and this is definitely good news for China’s manufacturing industry.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-11/24/content_18963665_2.htm
Grain Gain
In order to boost and protect its grain reserves, China has embarked on a program of upgrading its storage facilities and equipment. The new facilities are also improving working conditions, but some experts say that more still needs to be done.
On a sunny winter afternoon in a small county in northern China, Zhang Wenlong opened the door of a grain storehouse filled with wheat, and a gust of cold air came out.
Zhang, manager of the State Grain Depot in Qingyuan county in North China’s Hebei Province, took off his shoes and walked cautiously onto the wheat, which was covered with plastic film, to measure the wheat’s humidity and temperature.
“It has become easier to store the grain since we applied advanced new storage technologies,” said Zhang, who has been working at Qingyuan State Grain Depot for 10 years.
The Qingyuan depot was among the first batch of State grain depots to start using the new storage technologies, including ventilation and insecticide practices.
“Our working environment has also been improved,” Zhang noted.
Previously, the storekeepers would feel choked by dust when they transported grain into the warehouses, but now the grain can be moved directly into the warehouses by farm vehicles, according to Zhang.
Construction of the Qingyuan State Grain Depot started in 2000, and it now has 22 warehouses with a total storage capacity of 120,000 tons. It was one of a batch of State grain depots built after the central government decided to increase grain reserves in 1998.
To increase State grain reserves and deal with the Asian financial crisis at the end of the 1990s, the State Council, the country’s cabinet, released a notice in 1998 calling for construction of more grain depots. Since then, the State grain reserve has also played an important role in increasing farmers’ income.
When grain prices are low, the State reserve depots normally buy grain from farmers at prices that are higher than wholesale prices on the market, so as to ensure that farmers make a reasonable income. When grain prices rise, the State reserve depots are required to release grain into the market to stabilize the prices.
Given the growing amount of State reserves, there is an “urgent need to upgrade the facilities and management of the State grain depots to ensure the quality of grain,” Cao Yang, a professor at the Academy of the State Administration of Grain, told the Global Times Monday.
Improving security
According to a statement released by the State Administration of Grain (SAG) in October, total grain losses during the process of storage, transportation and processing in China have reached 35 million tons a year.
To reduce grain losses during storage, China will have more than 8 million items of grain storage equipment in 26 provinces by the end of 2014, the SAG said.
This equipment will help reduce grain losses by 900,000 tons and increase the income of farmers by 2 billion yuan ($326 million) each year in China, the SAG said.
“Maintaining low temperatures and good ventilation measures, as well as green and safe insecticidal methods, are necessary factors to ensure grain security,” Cao noted.
The storage period for wheat in State grain depots is four years, while the period for corn is two years.
“During this period, any carelessness can cause huge losses,” said Cao.
Accidents have happened in the past. A large grain storage center in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province caught fire in May 2013, and the fire damaged 78 barns that had total grain reserves of 47,000 tons, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
More spending needed
Cao said the central government should spend more on storage technology innovations.
“Government expenditure on storage technologies each year is less than 5 percent of the total spending on technological innovation in the agriculture sector,” Cao noted.
Generally, it costs around 4 million to 5 million yuan to upgrade and replace the old equipment and facilities at grain warehouses capable of storing 100,000 tons of grain, Ji Zhenjiang, director of Qingyuan State Grain Depot, told the Global Times Monday.
Ji said investment in technology will bring long-term profits for the depot.
To ensure its grain reserves, China will build a new batch of grain storage warehouses with a total storage capacity of 50 million tons, the SAG said Sunday.
Stricter regulations
In addition to technological innovation, Cao said stricter regulations for grain dealers are also needed to ensure grain security.
Normally in China, farmers don’t sell grain to the State grain depots, mainly because the fees they need to pay for transporting the grain squeeze their profit margins.
Sometimes they sell it to grain dealers instead, who then sell the grain to the State grain depots.
“Most of the grain in our State grain depots is purchased from the grain dealers rather than the farmers, who are eager to go to the cities to find work after harvest time,” Ji noted.
This process has some safety concerns because of a lack of regulations for the grain dealers, who sometimes add dangerous pesticide into the grain to keep pests at bay, said Cao.
Also, to increase the weight of the grain and make more profits, the dealers sometimes add straw or water to it, which then causes problems when storing the grain, Ji said.
“It always takes a long time for our storekeepers to clean up the grain,” Ji noted.
However, Zhang at Qingyuan State Grain Depot believes that things have improved a lot. It used to be hard to prevent grain from been destroyed by pests, but it is easier to protect the grain now and his working environment is also better thanks to the more modern facilities, he said.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/892827.shtml
Yili to invest $327m in NZ dairy
Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co, one of China’s largest dairy producers, said Friday it will invest 2 billion yuan ($327 million) in four dairy projects in New Zealand.
Yili on Friday unveiled its Oceania production base in Waimate, South Island, New Zealand, which has received investment of 1.2 billion yuan.
The base, covering packaging, production, processing and R&D, is the largest integrated dairy production base in the world, according to Yili.
The move came as increasingly more Chinese customers prefer overseas dairy products as the reputation of local brands was damaged in the melamine-tainted baby formula scandal in 2008.
The second-phase investment will be four projects – a raw milk processing plant, a UHT milk plant, a milk powder plant and a packaging plant.
Also on Friday, Yili signed an agreement with Lincoln University of New Zealand to focus on research on how to improve nutrition and to ensure the quality of dairy products.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/893257.shtml
China, S.Korea, Japan to hold sixth round of talks on trilateral FTA in Tokyo
China, South Korea and Japan will hold the sixth round of talks for a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) this week, after Beijing and Seoul concluded the substantive negotiations for a bilateral FTA, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said on Sunday.
The sixth round will be held from Monday to Friday in Tokyo, according to MOTIE. Negotiations for the trilateral FTA were launched in November 2012.
In the past two years, the three sides discussed various areas, including goods, services, investment, competition, intellectual property rights, e-commerce and environment, with the aim of achieving a comprehensive and high-level FTA, MOTIE said.
During the upcoming round, delegates from the three countries will focus mainly on modality, or basic guidelines, goods liberalization and how to liberalize services and investment. Differences have lasted over the issues among the three nations, according to MOTIE.
The latest round of talks comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye confirmed in Beijing the conclusion of substantive negotiations on the China-South Korea FTA on November 10.
All negotiations for the bilateral FTA will be wrapped up by the end of 2014, and the agreement is expected to be signed in 2015 and take effect in the second half of next year.
The South Korean trade ministry said it will seek to maintain consistency in talks for the deal with the China-South Korea FTA, which was effectively agreed.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@aartd.com
Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/893238.shtml
Vietnam pig breeding and meat imports in the first 10 months 2014
According to statistics of Vietnam Customs, in the first 10 months of 2014 Vietnam has imported 1,943 pig breeding (up 82.1% year-on-year) and 2,600 tons of pork (up 1.2%).
In October, 2014 Vietnam imported 205 pig breeding, the value of USD205,177 and approximately 243 tons of pork, the value of USD695,014.
Michael Boddington from Asian Agribusiness Recruitment Training Development (AARTD) has been involved in agribusiness in Asia since 2000. AARTD has office both in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City and China Beijing. So AARTD has a thorough understanding of the Vietnam and China agribusiness industry and produces up-to-date research reports on the market. We can offer insights on supply and demand trends and comments on the future structure of Asian agribusiness. If you would like to know more please email: michael@boddingtonconsulting.com
Source: http://www.heo.com.vn/?x/=newsdetail&n=4644&/c/=48&/g/=1&/19/11/2014/thang-11–tong-dan-heo-bat-dau-tang–november–total-pigs-begin-to-increase.html
