Crafar sale concerns Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers is concerned about the latest moves in the sale of Crafar farms to a part Chinese-owned company.

Receivers are progressing the sale of 16 Crafar farms to UBNZ Funds Management, which is partly owned by Chinese businesswoman May Wang.

Dairy chairperson Lachlan McKenzie says steps need to be taken to encourage New Zealanders to buy farms if we do not want to see more land going to overseas investors.

Mr McKenzie said it was not a done deal yet, and non-farmers needed to wake up to the potential of farming in New Zealand.

He believes the only positive thing about the conditional sale of the Crafar farms is that it is conditional. The sale hinges on the Overseas Investment Office giving consent.

Dairy chairperson Lachlan McKenzie said there was a lack of domestic appetite for the sale and the Government should be fixing this.

He said there were a lot of keen young people wanting to get into farming, and it's ironic that overseas people have the ability to do it, when New Zealanders are willing to do it, and can't.

McKenzie said the Emissions Trading Scheme will eventually make operating farms possible only for large corporate investors.

- NEWSTALK ZB