BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's dairy market is expected to grow significantly amid Chinese consumers' rising demand for premium products, China Daily quoted a new report as saying.
Sales of cheese will see a compound annual growth rate of over 20 percent in the next five years, and the popularity of solid milk products such as powder will continue, according to a report released Wednesday by Sino-Dutch Dairy Development Center (SDDDC), an industry institution focusing on dairy production in China.
"There is a big trend in the consumption of cheese in China, driven by the popularity of milk tea with cheese cap and Western-style pizzas and hamburgers," said Rahul Colaco, president of Dutch dairy producer FrieslandCampina China and chairman of the SDDDC supervisory board.
Seeking more personalized products is also a trend among Chinese consumers. "The elderly population or those who have medical needs and do sports are seeking more specialized products and functional food," Colaco said.
The report forecast sales revenue of dairy products will see an annual growth of over 3 percent over the next five years, while the sales growth of yogurt and organic milk will exceed 10 percent every year.
The expanding dairy market will bring opportunities for domestic dairy enterprises, according to Li Shengli, a professor at China Agricultural University.
"Leading Chinese dairy firms Yili Group and Mengniu Dairy Co are expected to increase their sales each by 30 billion yuan (about 4.35 billion dollars) to 50 billion yuan in the next five years, and they are hopeful of joining the top five global dairy producers," Li said.
