April 26, 2012

Mengniu Dairy to invest almost US$175-million in Hunan

China Mengniu Dairy Co., Ltd., one of the largest dairy producers in the country, seeks to construct a RMB1.1-billion (US$174.89-million) complex in Leiyang, a city in Hunan province.

Mengniu Dairy needs to restudy the site-picking for the project, said general manager for the Mengniu investment and planning department, noting that the Hunan project will make a late debut because of slow procedures, probably in August.

The developments of the project are expected to be reported to the newly-appointed president of Mengniu Dairy in a business adjustment period, according to the general manager. The company will be cautious in new investment projects on the heels of food security scandals since the beginning of this year.

In 2009, 37.4% of the cows in Hunan were raised in industrial plants and the remainder 62.6% in household farms in cities like Shaoyang, Changde, and Changsha. Thirteen dairy firms in the province had passed the review for dairy product manufacturing by March 31, 2011.