A spokesperson for the France-based company yesterday told DairyReporter.com that the sale, which he claims was scheduled for some time, allowed Danone to "regain room for manoeuvre" in order to develop fresh dairy products in the country.

Danone refused to give the financial details about the sale of its stake in Bright Dairy or who the buyer was.

Bright Dairy stated that Danone would pay 330m yuan (€31m) to terminate the existing distribution and production agreement between the two businesses. Danone refused to comment about the terms.

Though an increasing number of food and beverage groups are working with local partners to expand into new markets, the strategy is not without its problems for some manufacturers.

Danone in particular has been engaged in a number of legal disputes with various joint venture partners in China, India and South America over the last year, relating to how its brands are marketed and produced.

Source: foodproductiondaily.com