Blackmores, Bega in partnership for baby formula

Australian vitamin maker Blackmores Ltd said it would join dairy producer Bega Cheese Ltd to produce and sell baby formula to China, sending shares in both firms to record highs.

Blackmores, which reported an almost tripling in third-quarter profit on strong vitamin sales to China, said it would start the formula sales within months, expanding into a market forecast to be worth $30 billion by 2017 amid ongoing concerns about the safety of locally made products.

Blackmores will compete against global dairy firms such as Danone SA, Mead Johnson Nutrition Co and New Zealand's Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd that are seeking to grow in China, a country of 1.4 billion where less than a third of babies are exclusively breast-fed.