Chinese companies eye Australian cotton farms
Chinese textile companies are eyeing some of Australia’s biggest cotton farms with a view to investing in business there and taking advantage of bumper crops.
The news came out of the Australian Cotton Conference, which took place in Queensland, where Weng Chen Loh, director of trade for Ecom Trading Asia, said the farms were seen as lucrative investments due to their low cultivation costs and sheer scale.
Australian farmers have seen two consecutive years of bumper crops, helped by abundant water sources and increasing demand from China.
Chinese textiles giant Shandong Ruyi has submitted an application with the Foreign Investment Review Board to buy Cubbie Station, which went into voluntary administration in 2009. Cubbie Station is located in Queensland and is the biggest privately owned farm in Australia, spreading over an area of nearly 930 square kilometres.
