Posts by Chris Waugh
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Hard News: Fact and fantasy, in reply to Farmer Green,
Not sure what you are referring to there.
More than once this year NZ or allegedly NZ milk powder has failed AQSIQ inspection. At least once also in Hong Kong. I've seen products of Sutton Group caught twice - though to be fair to Sutton Group it's not clear whether they actually produced Ioland or not, but even so, their neither confirm nor deny does not help.
Those who buy up tins of powder at the supermarket and post them back to friends and family are, as I understand it, breaking the law, but I don't class them as dodgy operators because I trust the NZFSA to make sure what's on NZ supermarket shelves is up to scratch.
-
Hard News: Fact and fantasy, in reply to Farmer Green,
The other game changer will be if the new non co-op companies elect to produce all year round (why wouldn’t you go for maximum utilisation of a several hundred million dollar investment in plant?).
From what I've read (in Chinese - the Chinese media, for all its faults, seems to report these things faster than the NZ media) Yili plans to use the Oceania Dairy plant to produce milk powder as that way they can use all the milk without having to change NZ's seasonal milk production system. I guess once it's powder the milk has a sufficiently long shelf life that it can be shipped over to China then warehoused and gradually fed onto the supermarket shelves, so there can be a constant year-round supply of powder to the consumers, while their NZ$214 million investment runs at max capacity part of the year, and sits idle in the off season. Doesn't look too good for South Canterbury's labour force.
Also, in your Stuff article what grabbed my eye is this:
Also New Zealand has got a fantastic reputation when it comes to food safety . . . I dare say second to none . . . and these people are looking for very safe food because the Chinese don't trust their own food because of the melamine scandal and a couple of other things
Ummm... yeah... NZ has a fantastic reputation for the time being. NZ also seems to have some dodgy operators in the milk powder export industry who could easily ruin NZ's reputation.
-
Capture: Someone, Somewhere, In Summertime, in reply to JacksonP,
Wow, Jackson, spectacular.
Is that Rangitoto in the far background?
-
Took the scenic route home from marking exams this afternoon. I must’ve passed this little temple a thousand times, but it grabbed my eye again today for whatever reason. Behind me was a motorway interchange, behind it you can see, and there was me and the temple in a tiny little would-be-green-if-it-were-summer space in between.
And hard to believe, even after all these years in Beijing, but where that fence is is where I was getting my car washed last February, and behind that was an empty expanse of dirt.
-
Not quite art, not quite on the street.... elephant statue and UFO... erm... 2008 Olympic badminton gymnasium, still with the 2008 Olympic signs on it.
-
Hard News: Fact and fantasy, in reply to Sacha,
all of which will flow to Chinese rather than NZ interests.
I dunno, if Farmer Green is right and
Any proposal which sought ultimately to take milk directly from NZ dairy farmers by offering a better price than Fonterra would have the potential for more desirable outcomes vis a vis sustainability, initially economic , but possibly environmental as well.
Increased profitability can lead to reduced stocking rates and more resilient/self-contained farm enterprises ....and therefore Fonterra is forced to lift its game and/or room is made for other competitors to squeeze in, then it's not a total loss to NZ.
And that [ahem] link* to NewZealandInc.com because, oh look, NZ journos covering the world from an NZ angle and, look, East Asia, China, lots of it! From a Kiwi perspective! Finally!
*Dear TVNZ, if I have to copy and paste the address into a new browser tab, then no, you have not provided a link and you are not doing your job properly.
-
Hard News: Fact and fantasy, in reply to Farmer Green,
Yes, and now TVNZ is on the story, too, with more detail than I had been able to find, including confirmation that they have not yet bought Oceania Dairy.
I'm interested in what you say about offering a higher price than Fonterra. TVNZ's article says:
Yili said it has a preliminary cooperation agreement with some local farmers to supply the plant, and indicated plans to draw on Fonterra Cooperative Group's regulated supply of raw milk.
-
Capture: Spring is Like a Perhaps Hand, in reply to David Hood,
You, sir, are making me wish I was living back in North East Valley or Opoho and could walk through the gardens almost every day again.
Great photos, in other words.
-
Capture: Someone, Somewhere, In Summertime, in reply to Cecelia,
Thanks. And to you, too.
-
Crap lighting, crappier phone camera (yeah, yeah, poor workmen blame.... ), but halal Christmas decorations, campus Muslim restaurant (really, it has no name) where I got our Christmas lunch. And yeah, they painted their doors to be read from the inside. I liked that touch.
