43% of Chinese believe to increase their spending on dairy products.
Delivered Wednesday, May 28, by Claude Lafougère, of the Gira firm, during a webinar of theLivestock Institute (Idele), this information shows that China is called to stay, despite the Covid-19 crisis, the locomotive of the world milk market.
Strong growth before the crisis
In 2019, before the outbreak of the virus, this locomotive was launched at high speed on the rails of growth: increase in milk production (+ 4% compared to 2018) by increasingly concentrated dairy companies, sharp increase (+ 5%) in the consumption of dairy products (30 liters per capita and per year), dairy industrial groups Chinese beneficiaries, 17% increase in the value of imports of dairy products, boom in imports of liquid milk (+ 34%)
, lists Jean-Marc Chaumet, specialist in China, at Idele.
At the end of January, the locomotive began to cough under the effect of the health crisis: purchases of high-end dairy products as gifts for the Chinese New Year were cut by three. Due to the lack of outlets, part of the milk produced in China has been transformed into fatty powders, building up stocks of an additional 150,000 t. Dairy companies without contracts with processors had to throw milk
, describes the engineer.
Braked, the locomotive did not derail. The Chinese’s thirst for milk could even be reinforced by the crisis. The Chinese government is launching nutritional guidelines encouraging people to consume 300 grams of dairy products per day. The message : milk and yogurt guarantee a healthy diet and strengthen the immune system.
The organic products menu
The Gira expert firm plans to back to normal
for the beginning of 2021, after a sharp drop in 2020 in imports of fatty powders and cheeses. He also notes that the appetite for butter and cream of Chinese consumers, who are increasingly fond of pastry, suggests an increase of 8% in butter imports in 2021. According to Claude Lafougère, French processors have a playing card
, especially in organic dairy products. But, he warns, they will have to deal with the increasingly sharp competition from Chinese dairy groups whose brands are constantly winning market share.
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