Dairy products are now increasingly becoming part of mainland Chinese consumers’ diet, and the COVID-19 pandemic has also indirectly fueled the growth in demand for dairy products, especially those with health and immunity-boosting claims.
Over the past 2 years, mainland Chinese consumers are displaying growing awareness of dairy products, according to survey released by China Dairy Industry Association and Royal FrieslandCampina. Most of these consumers believe that dairy-based products can help boost their immunity and this is also confirmed by other reports released by the National Health Commission and several healthcare analysts.
In 2019, average daily intake of dairy was 237ml in China, but this has since jumped to 260ml this year. According to Chinese Dietary Guidelines, an average Chinese adult should consume 300g of milk or equivalent daily.
Wu Qiulin, Chairman of China Dairy Association emphasised that with the growth in dairy consumption in China, there will also be rapid growth and development of high-quality dairy products that meet the current needs of health-conscious Chinese consumers. This will indirectly revitalise the domestic dairy industry and production.
The survey done by the association with FrieslandCampina collected feedback from more than 4,200 respondents in 20 cities. The survey showed that more than 30% of the respondents claimed that they have increased their dairy intake since the pandemic. In addition, 11.1% of the respondents have also increased the variety of dairy intake, adding products like dairy snacks and yogurt, in addition to liquid milk, milk powder and cheese.
Despite the positive report, the Chinese still consume low volume of dairy products if compared to the western counterparts, and there is huge room for further growth. In countries like Russia, Germany, Netherlands and India, the daily dairy intake is well over 1,000ml, almost 4 times the consumption in China. The daily dairy intake structure of Chinese is significantly different from other countries. Liquid milk is the mainstay, while cheese accounts for 6.4% of the total, compared with 40% in those countries surveyed.
Nevertheless, Chinese consumption of dairy products have become more diverse. The survey showed that for breakfast, afternoon tea and social gatherings, RTD dairy products such as liquid milk, yogurt and condensed milk are preferred. In addition, there is a growing preference for conveniently packaged dairy products such as on-the-go dairy products which can be consumed anytime. Meanwhile, family-size packaging like packaged cheese slices also enjoyed strong growth.
Industry experts also mentioned that consumer education on dairy products and consumption in China is not systematic, especially among children, pregnant women, middle-aged, the elderly as well as on lactose-intolerant people. The dairy consumption volume is also unbalanced in different regions with the coastal developed cities contributing the bulk of consumption.
