China’s beleaguered dairy cows board bandwagon to revive economy

Beef and milk production in China is ‘facing a severe situation not faced in many years’, according to a joint notice from seven government departments

Reading Time:3 minutes

Demand for milk has fallen in China because of a slowing birth rate and a broader pullback in consumer spending. Photo: AFP

Ralph Jenningsin Hong KongandHe Huifengin Guangdong

Published: 6:30pm, 27 Sep 2024Updated: 9:05am, 2 Oct 2024

Seven government departments issued a joint notice on Thursday with a list of steps to stabilise China’s 500 billion yuan (US$71 billion) dairy industry, which has been so addled by supply-and-demand imbalances that some farmers have been forced to cull their herds.

The Notice on Promoting the Stable Development of Beef and Dairy Cattle Production outlined measures to revive the industry on the same day of an unexpected Politburo meeting and two days after a raft of interest rate cuts and monetary policy easing were announced as part of stimulus efforts to stabilise the world’s second-largest economy.

“Since 2023, nationwide prices of milk and beef have kept falling and dairy farmers overall have suffered losses and operational difficulties,” the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

“Beef and milk production is facing a severe situation not faced in many years.”

The notice aimed to “help farmers tide over difficulties and stabilise beef and dairy cattle production”.

The notice asked localities to “cultivate new business entities”, such as family dairy farms, and advocated that enough grain be allocated to control feed costs.