October 16, 2007

China's milk production and consumption growing steadily

China's milk production, dairy processing and market demand for such products are growing steadily, said Zhang Baowen, the country's Vice Agricultural Minister.

Zhang made the remark when attending a meeting of the China Dairy Association held recently in Harbin, provincial capital of Heilongjiang Province.

China's dairy output had increased significantly in recent years, with output reaching 33 million tonnes in 2006, or 3.6 times that of the figure in year 2000. Dairy cattle inventory stood at 13.632 million heads in 2006, up 18.6 percent on-year.

According to Zhang, China's dairy processing capacity had expanded significantly as well. Output of dairy products totalled 14.6 million tonnes in 2006, which is 6.7 times compared with the corresponding figure in year 2000. By product segment, liquid milk production had surged to 12.4 million tonnes in 2006, almost 10 times of the output in year 2000.

Average dairy product consumption of urban residents was 25.54 kg per person in 2006, up 76.6 percent compared with 2000. In the rural sector, average dairy product consumption hit 3 kg per person in 2006, compared with just 1 kg in 2000.