Time since the day the Chinese authorities uncovered the dairy scandal in its national economy.
As a result, there is an opportunity to investment in China.
Context
It turns out that in the In 2008, the Chinese dairy industry entered a crisis. from that was never able to recover: representatives of the production companies, in a corrupt agreement with members of the Chinese government, in charge of quality control of food products, decided approve the inclusion of melamine in baby formulas to give the sensation of protein richness in their products.
The idea claimed 300.000 victims which included 16 dead babies and 54.000 hospitalized for kidney stones and lack of protein.
Obviously, the tragedy resulted in a complete loss of trust towards the Chinese dairy industry, not only internationally, but also by its national consumers.
Okay, now we can understand the story within a broader context.
Entrance to the 21st Century
In the year 2001, China enters the World Trade Organization (World Trade Organization) and this widely influences the behavior of Chinese consumers.
La reducing trade barriers a increased exposure to Western cultures or with a increase in GDP in the country made the chinese change your spending habits.
Among them, the way in which the Chinese consumed milk.
It turns out that China had never been a big fan of dairy consumption.
However, this changed at the beginning of the new millennium: Dairy products from animals gained popularity and breastfeeding babies lost it.
So, we find ourselves in the year 2001 with a never seen growth in demand for dairy in one of the most populated countries in the world, that besides It does not have a free market economy... or cows. Perfect.
Could the National Economy meet the Demand?
For a time yes.
Somehow they managed to solve the problem of the lack of livestock for dairy production; but it was the one already mentioned tragedy of 2008 which irreparably ruined its national production plans.
That was how At the beginning of the following decade, China became a country with growing demand for dairy products, without a national industry capable of supplying them..
Or, in other words: in 2010, China becomes the world's largest importer of milk.
Y The trend has only increased.
During the first 5 years after the tragedy, The value of Chinese dairy imports quadrupled, going from 1,8 trillion dollars to 8.5, according to data from the US International Trade Commission.
And alone the next year, Demand increased again by 103% in yogurt and 39% in liquid dairy products. And the numbers are expected to continue growing from now until 2024.
And who are the lucky suppliers?
Well, at the time this blog already talked about the effects of the trade war between the United States and China.
And how this It ruined all trade pacts and their short and long-term relationships.
In the case of the dairy industry, things were a little different.
Americans have never focused on international growth of their dairy industry.
Their strong point is rather fats, especially the production of creams and ice creams, and they limit it to national distribution.
In the case of dairy exports, the European Union and Southeast Asia (Australia and New Zealand) are the great powers.
In the case of the first, the production of ultra-pasteurized liquid dairy products gives rise to the perfect conditions for conservation and shipping of products that require long periods of time to reach their destination.
In case you didn't know, We Europeans are experts at making milk last for months..
In the rest of the world, it is usually consumed fresh.
In fact, this is a an issue widely mentioned among those who study variables of consumer behavior, especially in the United States..
When it comes to Southeast Asiais in the baby formulas where do they have the strong point.
And it is those strengths that make the European Union, Australia and New Zealand across largest exporters of dairy products in the Chinese market.
And it is precisely the position of Spain in Europe, added to the new agreements between the Chinese and Spanish governments signed at the end of last year, which can place us in a dominant position in the dairy industry in a very short time.
Not only is the demand for dairy products growing in China, but also their taste for Spanish food industries.
We are already the largest exporter of milk within the European Union, as well as the second country in terms of production.
Key Partners for China
The new circumstances added to our traditional strengths only reinforce our position as one of the new key partners for china in the next years.
Although information regarding the dairy industry with respect to China is still scarce among official sources in our country, we have already seen large national dairy brands redesigning the the packaging of your products to adapt to the conditions of the Chinese market.
Will we be facing one of the most important opportunities for the Spanish dairy industry?
It will be seen shortly.
After graduating with honors in Corporate Communication, and after a few sabbatical months touring with my band, I moved to Scotland to complete a master's degree in International Management and Leadership. Almost a year after that, and studying and working in 3 countries, my colleague Mar, fellow adventurer of the Degree, wrote to me to sign up for this project. How can I refuse?
I'm going to talk to you about exports, imports and trade relations!
