Fonterra signs MOU on dairy farm in India

Fonterra Co-operative Group, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative (IFFCO) and Global Dairy Health have signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) to jointly conduct a feasibility study into a pilot dairy farm in India as a first step towards the vision of establishing large-scale world-class dairy farms in India.

The ongoing feasibility study would firm up key parameters of the project and is expected to be completed shortly.

If it were to proceed, in phase one, the pilot farm could have a herd size of around 3,000-5,000 cows.

Fonterra CEO Andrew Ferrier said the approach would be similar to that taken by Fonterra in China, which the company established a pilot farm for 3,000 cows in Tangshan in 2007.

"India is a vibrant and growing market and we are excited by the potential opportunities there. We are delighted to be working with IFFCO, the world's largest farmer fertilizer co-operative with a membership of 50 million farmers, and GDH, which is highly respected in the country."