A Silver Fern Farms shareholder is cautioning others to hold off voting on the massive Chinese offer on the company.

Electronic voting opened this week, on the Shanghai Maling deal, which is set to pump more than 260 million dollars into the company, for a 50 percent share.

Allan Richardson believes a New Zealand-based group is getting ready to table a counter offer.

He's asking shareholders to wait until the new proposal comes out.

"See what is involved in it and then make a decision, there's no rush, this whole process has been rushed so another option for them and a New Zealand based option."