Fonterra and Abbott, the US pharmaceuticals and health care giant, are to develop a dairy farm hub in China.

This will see them invest a combined €220m in up to five dairy farms with more than 16,000 cows, to produce almost 160m litres of milk per year. The first milk will flow from the farms in the first half of 2017. This will be Fonterra’s third farm hub in China and it has big ambitions for the region. Abbott is a major player in China’s infant formula and nutrition market.