April 13, 2004
China To Buy 45,000 Dairy Cows From New Zealand
China will buy up to 45,000 dairy cows from New Zealand in the first half of the year. An estimated 30,000 in-calf heifers will be shipped to China in early April with another 15,000 rising yearlings to be exported at the end of May.
The trade has boosted livestock sales, with export prices at least $300 more than the local market.
Bruce Nowell, general manager of Austrex NZ, one of three to four exporters involved in the trade, says exports had picked up from last September after the signing of a health protocol for livestock exports between New Zealand and China. The protocol with China was one of the most difficult to comply with, he says. "In contrast, a country like Mexico is relatively straightforward."
The Chinese want only Holstein Friesian animals, with proven breeding and production pedigrees. The trade requires F12 or above, purebred or close. Features particular to the breed, such as four white feet and a white switch on the tail, are also stipulated.
Production criteria are dams with a test record of 4500 litres and above per 305-day lactation. Heifers are sought with a birth date June-October 2003 and minimum 200kg live weight.
Heifers need to test clear of the following diseases: tuberculosis (bovine and avian), Johnes, EBL, IBR and BVD.
"So they're only importing good stuff," Nowell says. "Those people that can supply animals that comply with all those requirements are doing quite well at the moment."
He anticipated that a lot more Friesian semen will be used this coming season and a lot more Friesian heifer calves retained because of the trade. Specialist calf rearers are also expected to set up to supply the trade. "For dairy farmers it's almost a secondary industry."
China's push to boost its dairy industry is the result of a Government campaign to put a glass of milk in front of a school aged child each day. "They don't have a dairy industry that's currently able to do that."
In China, dairy cattle are not farmed under a pastoral system like New Zealand, but in a dairy feedlot where they are fed crop residues.
China would not turn around and become a competitor for New Zealand's dairy export industry because it would probably never be able to satisfy domestic demand for fresh milk, Nowell says.
Austrex was making a big commitment to the trade in New Zealand, which it anticipated would remain strong for five to 10 years. The company is also exporting big numbers into China from Australia.
The live exports are shipped from Timaru, Napier and Tauranga. After leaving the farm, animals spend 30 days in quarantine, where they have further health testing with the exercise repeated on arrival in China.
Scott Perkins, a director of Christchurch firm Livestock Exchange says yearling prices for export were $800, compared with $450 to $500 on the local market. Exported commercial Friesian in-calf heifers are worth $900, with up to $1100 paid for well-bred animals.
These prices were well above the local market, he says. Last year, in-calf heifers contracted for sale in May and June were fetching $500 to $600 locally, so export prices were at least $300 above this.
"I'm sure it would have been low again this year but the export market has held the whole industry up."
Calves will also be contracted, which are taken to a minimum of 100kg before being exported.