The First Batch of Kazakh Camel Milk Powder Enters China

According to the GAC Notice No. 2020-13, imported camel milk powder shall conform to the standard “RHB 903-2017 Camel Milk Powder” until the release of new GB standards. This article will briefly analyze the market performance of camel milk powder and its importation requirements via CBEC and general trade.

Reported by China News^[1], the first batch of Kazakh camel milk powder arrived in Lanzhou New Area comprehensive bonded area on June 12, 2020. All of the 7,000 cans of camel milk powder are to be sold on a local CBEC platform called “Lanzhou New Area Import Commodity Wholesale Center ^[2],” the largest shopping mall in the northwestern area of China.

Camel Milk Powder in China

Unlike goat milk, camel milk powder is still a niche market in China with little market data. The camel milk concept first became popular in China ^[3] on Wechat groups and shares on Wechat users Moments several years ago, and was positioned as a good source of nutrition for elderly consumers. But in recent years, it has gradually gained traction among younger consumers. According to Tmall Global data ^[4], camel milk powder has become quite popular in recent years. On the first day of Tmall Global’s “New Year Shopping Festival” this year, camel milk powder's daily sales volume was 30 times greater than in previous years.

Due to the low milk yield of camels, camel milk powder has a high market price. For example, the price of the brand pictured above Camelicious is 598 yuan (the “618” price of Camelicious is 478 yuan).

The market price of milk powder and camel milk powder

Commodity	Brand	Specification	Original Price (RMB)	“618” Price (RMB)
Milk powder	Devondale	1000 g	99	65
Milk powder	Nestle Nido	400 g	79.5	43
Camel milk powder	Saubota	500 g	628	533
Camel milk powder	Camelicious	480 g	598	478

Data from: Tmall Global and Lanzhou New Area Import Commodity Wholesale Center

How to Export Camel Milk Powder to China via CBEC and General Trade

At present, most camel milk powder is traded through CBEC channels due to the lower regulatory barrier and reduced costs. Kazakhstan is also preparing to export compliant camel milk to China via general trade. Here we make a comparison of the regulatory compliance requirements on CBEC and general trade.

General requirements for imported dairy products

Serial No.	Conditions	CBEC	General Trade
1	CBEC positive list (2019 edition ^[5])	√	×
2	Evaluation of the exporting country (Catalogue of Food Exported to China from Countries or Regions which Comply with Assessment and Review Requirements or Have Traditional Trading Relationships with China ^[6])	√	√
3	Overseas dairy manufacturer registration—GAC registration ^[7]	×	√
4	Inspection and quarantine review	√	√
5	Product standard	× (but products shall be compliant with the standard in the exporting country)	√

Generally speaking, imported products shall meet the requirements listed above. Some readers may find the country “Kazakhstan” is not listed in the approved countries (the second item in the table above). But according to the GAC notice No. 2020-13 ^[8], GAC granted Kazakhstan permission to import camel milk powder and specified the quarantine requirements.

As for product standard, this GAC notice also indicated that camel milk powder shall conform to the standard "RHB 903-2017 Camel Milk Powder ^[9]” until the release of new GB standards. The new draft GB standard GB 19644 Milk Powder ^[10], opened to public opinions in April 2020 and expanded the permitted source of milk powder to camel milk powder, donkey milk powder, etc. (view the English version of this consultation draft here ^[11])

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