BIG eastern Australian milk business Murray Goulburn Co-operative has paid $4.8 million for the remaining 24.1 per cent in Tasmanian Dairy Products (TDP) it doesn't already own.
The processing venture had been part-owned with Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, but MG now assumes full ownership of one of Tasmania's largest dairy companies.
TDP processing approximately 25pc of Tasmania's milk.
The business has an $80m state-of-the-art milk processing facility at Smithton which was constructed during 2011-12 with capacity to process about 250m litres annually.
Last financial year, TDP processed more than 210m litres of milk.
"With its rich dairy tradition and favourable climate for pasture based farming, Tasmania is an important, strategic dairy region for MG to have a strong presence in," said MG managing director, Gary Helou.
He said the farmer-owned co-operative was grateful to Mitsubishi for partnering with it for the past three years as it established a firm foundation footprint in Tasmania.
Mitsubishi would continue to be an important business partner for MG
"Over the past decade, the Tasmanian dairy industry has grown strongly," Mr Helou said.
Earlier this year TDP suppliers responded strongly in supporting an invitation to become MG supplier-shareholders and since the start of the 2015-16 trading year, all milk supplied to TDP has come via MG co-op members.
"We were pleased to be able to extend the benefits of our dairy co-operative to Tasmanian dairy farmers and we look forward to continuing to grow our supply base and production in this high quality dairy region," he said.
MG entered the Tasmanian dairy industry in mid-2000 with the acquisition of Classic Foods (Edith Creek).
MG's other operations in Tasmania include two MG Trading stores in Smithton and Deloraine.
Andrew Marshall
National agribusiness writer for Fairfax Agricultural Media.
National agribusiness writer for Fairfax Agricultural Media.
