Dairy news from China: milk powder imports must be labeled in Chinese; ‘national dairy team’ will be able to process 700,000 metric tons

Imported milk powder must have Chinese language labels. Three companies, known as China’s national dairy team will own 100,000 dairy cows and have a processing capacity of 700,000 metric tons of dairy products.

China bans imported milk powder without Chinese labeling

Beginning on July 1, China will implement a regulation that bans imported milk powder with packaging that doesn’t have Chinese language labels. The new regulations also have clearer standards for indication of nutritional content and functional claims on packaging.
According to the regulations, importers will be responsible for inspecting products to ensure that Chinese labels are directly printed on the smallest individual units of packaging in a shipment before it crosses the border. If a product is found to lack Chinese labeling or the labeling does not meet Chinese standards, the shipment must be returned or destroyed.

3 Chinese companies build 'national team' for dairy

On May 6, Chongqing Agricultural Investment Group joined with Ningxia Nongken Group, and Shaanxi Nongken Group to jointly invest in establishing China Nongken Dairy Industry Co. Ltd. (also called Zhongken Dairy), a company which is being referred to as China's “National Dairy Team.”

By the end of October 2015, the three companies will have finished their investment into the joint venture and Zhongken Dairy will own 100,000 dairy cows and have a processing capacity of 700,000 metric tons of dairy products, with market coverage in over 10 provinces in central and western China. The company will be China's fifth most-developed liquid dairy product supplier. Zhongken will focus on large cities and build more milk pasteurization and market expansion zones.

Chongqing Agriculture Investment Group Chairman Wang Yizhao said that under this model, Zhongken will build a 300,000-metric-ton milk processing plant in Xi'an, Shaanxi and another 150,000-metric-ton plant in Yinchuan, Ningxia. Zhongken will also develop five to six new cold chains to supply to 50 key cities.

News briefs about the Chinese dairy industry

New Hope Dairy signed a strategic cooperation agreement with New Zealand's AgResearch Ltd. To work with dairy animal health and nutrition in four target areas: allergic reactions to milk proteins as seen in Chinese consumers; pasteurization's effects on milk nutrition; powder formulas for Chinese babies; and additive-free yogurt and dairy product development. The two parties will built a joint research lab to further the cooperation platform.
Andingyuan Dairy Co. welcomed a herd of Holstein dairy cows. The total imported group consisted of 7,000 cows, 2,000 of which were ordered by Andingyuan, and 900 cows have already entered their farms. Gansu province is trying to make the animal husbandry ecosystem (including livestock and pasturage) a core industry of the region. This recent move is part of a provincial project titled “1236” to lift rural workers out of poverty.

Content written and submitted by Smart Agriculture Analytics, Beijing.