Several dairy farms across China are dumping milk and ceasing operations, citing oversupply and cheap imports.TS
This comes in response to slump in consumer demand across the country and increase in imports from countries such as Australia and New Zealand, reports abc.net.au.
Since 2013, dairy farms across Hebei Province have expanded its capacity due to increase in fresh milk price, according to CCTV.
However, the demand for imported products has increased as the price of domestically-produced milk powder is nearly double the imported milk powder price.
Dairy Association of Hubei secretary Yuan Chunsheng was quoted by CCTV as saying: "The rising cost of dairy farming is because we have a relatively extensive farming method. The large-scale farm is a trend if we want to raise the yield and maintain quality at the same time."
In addition, the growing supply of imported milk is forcing domestic suppliers to reduce cost.
In 2014, nearly one third of raw milk was imported for domestic consumption.
Image: Since 2013, dairy farms across Hebei Province have expanded its capacity due to increase in fresh milk price. Photo: courtesy of Naypong / freedigitalphotos.net.
