Fonterra to have 30 farms in China by 2020

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra is expected to have 30 farms in China with an annual production capacity of 1 billion liters of milk by 2020, a company executive said on Monday.

Fonterra, which was involved in a recent botulism scare, said it plans to intensify the promotion of its finished products in China in the latter half of the year, including introducing a baby milk powder under the Fonterra brand.

Fonterra currently has five farms in north China's Hebei Province and is planning to create a second conglomerate of farms in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, said Qin Min, vice president of Fonterra Greater China, on Monday night.

The quality of cattle and milk at Fonterra's Chinese farms can meet New Zealand standards, Qin said.

New Zealand has been a major provider of dairy products to China. In the first half of this year, China imported 371,000 tons of milk powder from New Zealand, accounting for 83.3 percent of the country's total milk powder imports, according to Chinese customs data.