THE World's largest dairy exporter Fonterra Group said today it will build a 200 million yuan (US$30 million) dairy farm after reaching an agreement with Yutian County in northern China's Hebei Province. Under the agreement, the planned farm is expected to start operation in November next year. It will house around 3,000 milking cows the New Zealand dairy firm is to import from its home nation. About 100 local employees will work on the new farm. "We're committed to developing and investing in the local dairy industry over the long term," Fonterra CEO Andrew Ferrier said in a statement today. "This new agreement will further strengthen our supply of fresh dairy products for Chinese consumers," he added. The new farm will be developed on 42 hectares of land, close to the existing Tangshan Fonterra Farm in Hangu, which the Auckland-based Fonterra launched in a joint venture with the Sanlu Group in April 2007, involving 144 million yuan of investment. The structure and management of the new farm will also be similar to the Hangu dairy farm, which now has more than 6,000 cows and produces around 25 million litres of milk each year for the Chinese market.