(Recasts to include turnaround plan, adds shares)
SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - Australian organic infant formula maker Bellamy's Australia Ltd BAL.AX said Chinese authorities have suspended the import licence of its newly-acquired production plant, upending a turnaround plan unveiled less than a month ago.
Bellamy's stock has been roiled by problems with sales and regulations in China, its top export market. The company outlined a plan in June to buy formula cannery Camperdown Powder Pty Ltd, and the firm's Chinese accreditation, as a key plank in a turnaround plan.
In a sharemarket filing on Friday, Bellamy's requested a trading halt "to allow the company to determine the reasons and impact of the Camperdown's suspension of its CNCA license by the China authorities overnight," referring to China's Certification and Accreditation Administration.
The statement did not say whether the Chinese authorities had given a reason for the suspension, or provide further details.
Bellamy's replaced its chairman and chief executive officer earlier this year following a series of regulatory and strategic missfires associated with selling formula to China.
In March, it warned it would miss a 2018 deadline to register its products for sale on the mainland after a change of ownership at its Australian powder supplier meant the supplier needed to apply for a fresh registration. June, under new leadership, the company said it would buy a 90 percent share of Camperdown cannery for A$28.5 million ($22 million), saying it was China-registered.
Bellamy's shares, which listed at A$1.00 in 2014, hit a closing high of A$15.07 in August as investors bet on its ability to tap China's seemingly insatiable appetite for quality Australian formula. In recent months the shares have backtracked, closing at A$6.74 on Thursday, before being suspended.
($1 = 1.3194 Australian dollars)