New Zealand

The amount of productive farmland being taken out of New Zealand hands each year has dropped off sharply in the past decade, figures show. But those opposed to overseas ownership of land say the best land has already been cherry-picked by foreign buyers who push prices up.

L’acquisition de 16 fermes laitières (Crafar Farms) par un groupe chinois crée des remous en Nouvelle-Zélande.

Le gouvernement a donné son feu vert à la décision du Bureau de l’investissement à l’étranger qui recommande la vente des 16 fermes laitières Crafar à la société Shanghai Pengxin pour 150 millions de dollars.

Chinese investors are buying New Zealand farmland for the first time as economic ties with the Asian powerhouse grow ever deeper, sparking considerable anxiety in a country where livelihoods are heavily reliant on agriculture.

Shanghai Pengxin Group Co., a Chinese property developer seeking to export dairy products to Asia, won approval to buy 16 New Zealand dairy farms amid local objections to rising foreign ownership of assets.

The inner workings of one of the NZ Government's most secret agencies, the Overseas Investment Office, could be blown open if it consents to a Chinese company buying the big Crafar dairy farming estate.

Stephen Diggle plans to open his personal portfolio of farmlands in the US, Uruguay and New Zealand to investors and to pour money into Africa and eastern Europe as global food prices soar.

"The whole mess in Europe at the moment has increased demand for diversification products for the Asian markets," says Aquila CEO Roman Rosslenbroich, including farmland.

Polling for the Michael Fay-led consortium trying to buy the Crafar dairy farms shows an “overwhelming desire for the government to stop in and stop the sale” to the would-be Chinese buyer, Pengxin International.

A survey shows New Zealanders are overwhelmingly opposed to foreign ownership of New Zealand farmland – but three weeks out from the election there is no sign the main political parties will make a fight of defending our turf.

Aquila Capital Green Assets, part of the Aquila Group, is pleased to announce today that it has become an official signatory to the recently launched Principles for Responsible Investment in Farmland.

Labour leader Phil Goff says, if elected as government on 26 November, his party would reverse the current approach so overseas buyers of farms would have to prove they offer additional value to the country.