Australian dairy in drought: foreign ownership is the least of farmers' worries
Written by Calla Wahlquist
The number of dairy farms has fallen by more than 2,700 in the past 10 years. Farmers can only hope the next decade is better
Five days after submissions closed on the final draft of the Australian dairy industry mandatory code of conduct, a confidential meeting was held in Canberra.
Representatives of dairy producers and processors met Coalition MPs after a $600m offer by China’s Mengniu Dairy to buy the already foreign-owned Lion Dairy processing business, which has fanned concerns about the overwhelming role of multinational corporations in the Australian dairy industry. Just a week earlier, the federal government approved the $1.5bn sale to Mengniu of the infant formula maker Bellamy’s.
Related: Barnaby Joyce 'disappointed' over Frydenberg approval of Bellamy's sale to China
Related: Labor to vote with One Nation to pressure Nationals over dairy prices
Related: Drought and low milk prices push dairy farmers to the brink
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