The average Holstein Friesian cow can grow to 600 kilos, stand 150cm tall and produce as much as 10,000 litres of milk a year. They can calve after 24 months, and produce milk for as long as 15 years.
Bovine biology may not appear obvious required reading for Asia’s investment bankers, but thanks to China’s rapidly growing thirst for milk products, the region’s dairy sector is in the middle of a wave of dealmaking, driving up asset prices from New Zealand to Inner Mongolia.
Milk is already big business in China, and it is getting bigger. Macquarie expects Chinese dairy consumption to rise at a compound rate of 13 per cent a year between now and 2017, while high-end milk products are likely to see 20 per cent annual growth rates.