According to a report published on China Quality News, imported pasteurised milk has somewhat remarkably gained market share, despite it being priced higher than that in Australia and New Zealand.
“The surging A2 pasteurised milk fetches up to CNY65 per litre with an estimated 100% gross profit, which by no means reflects the real value of the product,” commented Liang Song, a high-profile dairy consultant based in Beijing.
China’s import volume of pasteurised milk from Australia increased by 131.6% annually to 262.7 tonnes in Suzhou last year, about 100km west of Shanghai, according to a manager from a trading company based in Suzhou.
“Imported pasteurised milk features better flavour with enhanced nutrition compared to UHT milk. These features are favoured by high end and health conscious consumers wanting to pay for the premium,” he said, adding that his company aims to import 2000t of pasteurised milk this year.
Nevertheless, debate over freshness of imported pasteurised milk fired up recently. Dairy scientists were worried about the valid shelf life given the inspection process normally takes a week.
“First, imports of pasteurised milk should be restricted because it poses food safety risks to consumers when it comes to biosecurity. This means shorter shelf life when quarantine inspection is undertaken. Second, it is hard to trace the product origin,” said Dr Shengli Li, Professor of Dairy Science in China Agricultural University and Chief Scientist of the National Dairy Industry & Technology System.
Apart from a slight difference in flavour, nutritionally there was no difference between pasteurised milk and UHT milk in terms of protein, calcium and fat, according to a report published by International Dairy Federation.
The share of pasteurised milk in China’s liquid milk consumption has been on the rise, with the consumption of pasteurised milk experiencing a compound annual growth rate of 25%.
The market size for pasteurised milk market in China reached CNY25.4 billion (US$4.1 m) in 2014, up 35% from previous year.
“The market has been growing 20%-30% per year in the first and second tier cities, which have also spurred fierce competition amid domestic producers that are looking for higher profit compared to UHT milk,” Song said.
