Dairy Export Opportunities Series: China

The fifth installment of our eight-part video series looks at a market that has slumped this year, but will still, over time, reward patient exporters.

Even as global dairy markets struggle to recover, opportunities exist. This series featuring U.S. Dairy Export Council international representatives identifies some of those opportunities for U.S. dairy exporters. 

As explained in the latest USDEC Global Dairy Market Outlook (download pdf here), world dairy supplies expanded the last five years on the assumption that uninterrupted China growth was almost a sure thing. But China dairy imports have shifted into a significantly lower gear in 2015.

In this installment, USDEC's Daniel Chan, based in Shanghai, offers insights into what it takes to succeed in China over the long haul. A transcript follows the video.

(Full video will display on mobile devices when started.) 

TRANSCRIPT: A big market, with different regulations

What advice do you have for USDEC members thinking about the China market?

We would like them to come and see for themselves. Let us show them how the market evolved and where the potentials are. Learning comes from seeing and seeing is believing. We would like you to come.

Can you further elaborate on the opportunities there?

When we look into the future, there is tremendous growth potential, but there are many challenges. The first one that we will be running into is China is a big market, but it is a market in itself with different rules, regulations and specifications. So we’ve got to learn and study those requirements.

What advice do you have for member companies in adapting to the changing regulations?

China has been going through many food safety issues. They are very serious about it and they are addressing these challenges head on and, therefore, they are making a lot of changes with regard to food safety first of all, and traceability secondly, to make sure that products imported and consumed by the Chinese consumers are safe. So that is where we want to make sure that we continuously develop and deliver good and wholesome and safe products.

Learn more: Other blog posts on China include:

• Global Dairy Market Rebound Not Expected Until mid-2016 at Earliest
• China Imports of Whole Milk Powder Lowest Since 2012
• 5 Reasons U.S. Dairy Sales to China Will Grow Long-Term
• China Could Become Largest U.S. Buyer of Cheese 

The “Dairy Export Opportunities” series includes these eight videos:

• Mexico: Rodrigo Fernandez; Mexico City, Mexico
• South America: Cesar Leiva; Lima, Peru
• Japan: Jeff McNeill; Tokyo, Japan
• South Korea: Y.S. Lee; Seoul, South Korea
• China: Daniel Chan; Shanghai, China
• Vietnam: Phuong Dang; Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Middle East/North Africa: Nina Bakht; Beirut, Lebanon
• Southeast Asia: Tony Emms; Singapore

Each video can be reused without permission. To share this video on social media, click the buttons at the top and bottom of this post. To put on your own site, see the video on YouTube and click the "share" button. To request a DVD, contact us at mokeefe@usdec.org or mspeich@usdec.org.

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff.  How to republish this post.