Germany dominates NZ dairy farmland sales
by Alan Bullion
Despite all the attention on Chinese bids for New Zealand dairy farms, it is in fact Germany that is fast expanding its investments in this sector.
The latest Overseas Investment Office data shows over 170,000ha of NZ farm land was sold in the six years from July 2005 to May 2011, a period that includes significant German investment activity in the dairy sector.
Germany is now the single largest foreign buyer of dairy land sold, accounting for 5,760ha, over half of total foreign dairy farm sales, according to New Zealand Farmers Weekly.
Working with Feilding-based MyFarm investment company, the Aquila group has acquired a total of 3,547ha, with the rest largely owned by DAH Beteiligungs.
Other foreign entities buying dairy land include Dutch firms (650ha) and Irish interests (450ha). United States dairy purchases were dominated by the sale of the 1300ha Big Sky property last year to Harvard University.
A breakdown of purchase data indicates sheep and beef property purchases remained by far the most significant tracts of land bought by offshore interests as diverse as Israelis to Canadians. This sector accounted for 86% of total land sales.
Despite the intense national debate over Chinese ownership of New Zealand dairy land in the past year, Chinese and Hong Kong buyers remain a minute portion of total foreign sales, with only 533ha of land in total sold to these investors over the past six years. The Hong Kong portion is a miniscule 256ha spread across five titles, the largest being 120ha horse farm in Waikato.
Overall, the United States, Italy, and United Kingdom remain by far the most significant buyers of NZ farmland.
