Vietnam ships milk to China for first time

Vietnam’s dairy products are put on sale in China for the first time (Photo: TH Milk)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has exported its first shipment of milk to China to establish itself in the second largest milk consumption market in the world.

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on October 22 to announce the shipment, which follows a deal signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the General Administration of Customs of China in April this year.

This was a specially important event for the agricultural sector in general and the dairy industry in particular in efforts to boost high-quality farm produce exports to potential markets, especially China.

The shipment contained sterilised milk and modified milk made by TH Milk Joint Stock Company (TH Milk).

TH Milk has become the first Vietnamese enterprise eligible for exporting dairy products to the most populous country in the world. Other four milk producers of Vietnam namely Vinamilk, Moc Chau Milk, Nutifood and Hanoimilk are waiting for approval by the Chinese customs authority.

At the ceremony, TH Milk signed a contract to ship the first batch of dairy products to China with its Chinese partner, Wuxi Jinqiao International Food City. Under the contract, the two sides will cooperate in distributing milk products in all provinces and cities across China via wholesale, retail and supermarket channels.

Speaking at the event, MARD Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said China is the second largest dairy consumer market in the world (after the US), with a total market value of about 60 billion USD.

“More Vietnamese milk products are expected to enter the Chinese market after quality checks. With China’s door opening for Vietnam’s milk products, the dairy industry is hoping to earn 300 million USD from this market by 2020,” he said.

China’s approval of milk imports from Vietnam showed that Vietnam’s dairy industry is increasingly integrating into the world, he said, adding that Vietnamese businesses have built concentrated farming models using hi-tech applications for production and administration, ensuring milk products met the strict regulations of the Chinese market.

Representatives of TH Milk and Wuxi Jinqiao International Food City Co., Ltd sign a MoU on cooperation in market development and consumption of food, farm produce and dairy products (Photo: TH Milk) 

He spoke highly of great efforts made by the dairy industry in general and TH Milk in particular in urgently implementing the contents of the protocol to enable the export of the first batch of Vietnamese milk to the Chinese market right in October.

“The event opens up a big opportunity for Vietnam’s dairy cow breeding and milk processing sectors to boost exports to not only China but also many other potential markets such as Japan, Canada, Australia, the US and Thailand,” he added.

China’s imports of Vietnamese dairy products will help raise Vietnam’s farm produce export turnover and locals’ incomes as China is one of the largest milk importers in the world, he said.

He said he wishes Vietnamese businesses and dairy cow breeders will increase investment in developing cow herbs to ensure material milk supplies.

In the coming time, the ministry will continue proposing the General Administration of Customs of China consider milk export applications from four other Vietnamese enterprises.

All farms registering to export milk products to the Chinese market have been sampled and supervised by authorised agencies according to regulations of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and Vietnam.

A number of businesses have plans to build disease-free cattle ranches, supplying quality products for export. It is expected that by December 2022, they will submit their plans to the OIE for evaluation and recognition as disease-free dairy farming areas.

In 2018, China imported nearly 10 billion USD worth of milk and dairy products. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) forecast the demand for milk and dairy products in China will continue to surge, with an estimated import growth of 45 percent by 2025.

Vietnam aims to increase milk export revenue to the neighbour from 120 million USD to 300 million USD in 2020./.