Federated Farmers in South Canterbury is suspicious of a takeover of southern Synlait farms by the Chinese company, Shanghai Pengxin.
The takeover has been approved by the Overseas Investment Office, and the company will now have a 74 percent stake in 13 properties southwest of Christchurch.
South Canterbury Federated Farmers president Ivan Hurst says there are always questions when foreign companies capture businesses that include raw materials right through to the final product.
He says he cannot understand why the takeover was approved, and suspects some information used to justify the decision has been kept from the public.
