Synlait Milk's licence for China exports renewed

Synlait Milk makes about 8 per cent of its sales in China. Photo / Supplied

Synlait Milk said registration of its Dunsandel plant in the South Island has been renewed by Chinese authorities for another four years.

The company, which makes about 8 per cent of its sales in China, said the registration by that country's General Administration of Customs – GACC – will enable the firm to continue exporting canned infant formula.

Chief executive Leon Clement said re-registration required Synlait to prove it has robust systems for change management, pathogen management and food incident management. A three-day onsite audit conducted by the Ministry for Primary Industries on behalf of the GACC also included a full traceability exercise from raw materials through to export.

"GACC has strict criteria overseas manufacturers must meet to maintain registration, and I'm pleased to say Synlait Dunsandel continues to meet these high standards," Clement said.

Synlait shares rose 2 cents to $9.22 and have gained almost 32 per cent the past year.

The company, which almost doubled its profit to $74.6 million in the year ended July, is currently spending $260m building a second infant formula plant at Pokeno in Waikato.

The first dryer at the Pokeno site is expected to have an annual capacity of 40,000 metric tonnes. The increased capacity is needed to feed growing demand for infant formula from customers including a2 Milk Co, New Hope Nutritional, Bright Dairy and Munchkin.