China to Revitalize Domestic Dairy Industry

According to the latest industry development roadmap unveiled by the State Council on June 11, 2018, China will promote the revitalization of its dairy industry including the whole industrial chain, from raw milk to final products and develop new nutritional policies to promote consumption.

Promote Development of Premium Milk Source Bases

The proportion of large-scale farms (over 100 cows) is targeted at over 65%, and the raw milk self-sufficiency rate targets are set at over 70% by 2020. To realize this goal, China will prioritize establishment of high-quality milk source bases, including the optimization of milk source layout, development of optimized breeding, promotion of premium forage grass production and popularization of fine breed. 

Enhance the Quality of Final Products

In order to obtain high-quality final products, more stringent quality and safety supervision will be applied to the whole process of milk production, including breeding, processing and transportation. Besides the national standards of raw milk and sterilized milk will be further developed. The document also stated that the new raw milk classification system will facilitate reaching this goal.

Infant formula is still a key regulatory target, and the administrative measures for infant formula registration will be tightened. Sub-packaging of imported infant formula milk powder (large package) is strictly prohibited, and now China encourages the use of raw milk for infant formula production and establishment of private milk source base for manufacturers.

Develop National Nutritional Policies to Promote Consumption of Dairy

The competent authorities and relevant enterprises should promote consumption of dairy products using a series of measures, such as promotion of national school milk program, public service announcements, dairy health benefits and knowledge dissemination etc.