PGG Wrightson opening office in Beijing

PGG Wrightson is establishing an office in Beijing, aimed at delivering revenue and profit generating business for the company in China.

The announcement was made yesterday by Agria Corp, the China-based company which is the majority owner of the agricultural services company.

The initial focus would be on working with PGGW's existing businesses to satisfy the strong demand in China for high quality grass seed and for dairy livestock sourced from New Zealand, Australia and Uruguay.

It was envisaged the office would facilitate sourcing of products for PGGW's rural supplies business in New Zealand and serve as a valuable resource for the company's other business units.

It would also be responsible for conducting market and product research, marketing, brand promotion and co-ordination of PGGW's activities in China.

The move represented a "significant milestone" in the company's strategy of generating value from market opportunities in China, PGGW managing director George Gould said.

PGGW had a history of working with China-based partners and customers given the international scope of its livestock, wool and proprietary seeds business, he said.

In August, PGGW announced a net loss after tax of $30.7 million for the year ended June and, at that time, Mr Gould said the company was refocusing on "getting the basics right" and it was awake to the potential opportunities afforded by growth agricultural economies such as China.

"The establishment of a formal representative office reflects the success of our relationship, our resource sharing and continued mutual goal of pursuing attractive growth opportunities in China, New Zealand and worldwide," Agria chief executive Xie Tao said.

Mr Gould will visit Beijing as part of a scheduled business trip to China this week.