A New Zealand delegation composed of representatives from its Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Committee visited the Xi’an International Trade and Logistics Park (ITL) on March 26, to pursue cooperation with Xi’an city and Shaanxi province, especially on farm products such as meat and milk, and other foods, cnwest.com reported.

The delegation, led by John Hayes, a New Zealand National Party member and chairman of the committee, inspected several key projects in the park, including Xi’an South China City, Northwest Pharmaceutical Logistics Center, the Comprehensive Bonded Zone and Xi’an Railway Container Center.

Hayes said animal husbandry is the most advanced industry in New Zealand, with export volume of farm products taking up 50 percent of the country’s total exports. The export volume of deer horn, mutton and milk products rank first in the world, and China is one of the most important markets for New Zealand, he added. The visit was aimed at promoting the cold storage project by Xi’an Zhongniu Trade Co Ltd in the ITL.

With an investment of 333 million yuan ($53.65 million), the company intends to establish three automatic cold storages, a processing plant, an air-conditioned cold storage, a high temperature library and an inspection and quarantine center.

After completion, it can store and process 30,000 tons of beef and mutton, and 200,000 bottles of red wine, making it the largest cold storage in Asia and the only designated inspection port for meat and seafood in Northwest China.

John Hayes said they are satisfied with the visit and believes that ITL will provide a good platform for red wine, beef and mutton from New Zealand. He also praised cargo trains taking the place of camels on the former Silk Road, and ITL can help sell more products to places farther away.

Edited by Nelly Min