The dairy industry's fragile rise has become a surprise that the market has yet to catch up with
To examine China's dairy industry, Hebei's dairy industry is a mirror.
Junlebao infant formula was the first to pass the Global Food Safety Standard (BRC) A+ certification, becoming the world's first infant formula company to obtain this top-level certification. Undoubtedly, this is a surprise that China's dairy industry, in re-emerging, has brought to the Chinese people, at a time when foreign brands account for an almost one-sided share of the domestic high-end milk powder market.
Why is that? Because this is a quality rise after Hebei's dairy industry hit rock bottom. Back then, Hebei's dairy industry had collapsed because of the "Sanlu milk powder incident," which triggered a crisis of trust in the domestic dairy industry.
It is also because this certification is the world's most stringent quality certification. The BRC food safety certification of SGS (Societe Generale de Surveillance), the Swiss general standard inspection body, is an internationally recognized food standard; passing BRC certification means obtaining a quality passport for access to the EU market. Moreover, A+ grade certification requires companies to consistently meet the corresponding stringent indicators during unannounced audits at uncertain times. This fully demonstrates that Junlebao's dairy quality is solid, and it can not only compete in the international arena but also win the competition.
Not only Junlebao: Modern Farming has won the gold award at the World Food Quality Evaluation Conference for 3 consecutive years, and this year also won the conference's International High Quality Award. But a reality in China's dairy market that cannot be ignored is that consumer confidence in domestic dairy products has never been effectively restored. The high quality and low confidence form an "inversion," leaving the national dairy industry, which is starting up again, hobbling forward in a market with insufficient consumer confidence.
This "surprise" is a "surprise" that the market has yet to synchronize with. In any case, with the market sluggish, the dairy industry has not truly risen.
A dairy quality system targeting milk sources and standards
The crux of the dairy market lies in quality. Therefore, for many years, Hebei's dairy industry has been deeply cultivating around the main axis of quality.
Milk sources are the foundation of dairy quality. The root cause of the "Sanlu milk powder incident" lay in milk sources, and this is also where the main gap lies between domestic dairy companies and international dairy companies. In order to fundamentally solve the safety problem of milk sources, in the "epicenter" of that year's incident, Hebei carried out three-tier milk source supply reform tailored to local conditions, encouraging companies to build large-scale pastures themselves, take over existing small and medium-sized pastures, and upgrade breeding communities, achieving a dual improvement in both the quality and quantity of dairy development.
Data from the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of Hebei Province show that at present, the province's large-scale dairy cow breeding rate has reached 100%, the proportion of stock in large and medium-sized pastures and dairy cow communities has reached 98%, the level of large-scale breeding is at the forefront nationwide, a zero-detection record for melamine and leather hydrolyzate has been maintained for six consecutive years, and the pass rate in spot checks has reached over 99.9%.
Standards are the quality target of the dairy industry. At Junlebao, currently the largest dairy company in Hebei Province, all raw milk used to produce infant formula comes from the company's self-built large-scale pastures, and all indicators strictly follow international standards. Taking the total bacterial count of raw milk as an example, China stipulates below 2 million per milliliter, the U.S. national standard is 500,000, Japan stipulates below 200,000, and the EU standard used by Junlebao requires below 100,000. If this standard is not met, it is not allowed to be used for producing milk powder.
By integrating milk source control and standard control, Junlebao has explored and created an effective "4+1 high-quality milk powder formula": high-quality milk sources, top-grade raw and auxiliary materials, scientific formula and production processes, plus a fourfold testing system covering the company, the industry, the government and third parties, comprehensively strengthening supervision of key links in milk powder production. It should be said that the construction of a dairy quality system targeting milk sources and standards has put Hebei's dairy industry on the right track.
A consumer confidence that must be sustained
Although breakthrough progress has been made in quality, the restoration of confidence in Hebei's dairy industry and even China's dairy industry is a long-term process. International brands, leveraging price advantages and the lack of confidence among domestic consumers, continue to hold an active position in China's dairy market.
To revitalize the dairy industry, safety is the ballast, and confidence is the backbone. Safety without confidence cannot withstand the test of time, and confidence without safety cannot withstand the storms of competition. Judging from the actual situation of Hebei's dairy industry, sustaining consumer confidence requires efforts on multiple fronts.
Stricter dairy standards must be implemented. With reference to the experience of advanced dairy countries such as the EU and the United States, and in combination with China's national conditions, stricter standards should be formulated for the main raw and auxiliary materials of infant formula milk powder, including raw milk and whey protein powder, clearly specifying what grade and standard must be met before they can be used in the production of infant formula milk powder.
Consideration can be given to setting a guide price for infant formula to avoid layer-by-layer markups in the circulation process, which lead to "inflated" domestic milk powder prices. Price regulatory authorities should clarify the profit margin in the circulation process, and the state may consider establishing a floating guide price for infant formula, striving to significantly change the situation of inflated infant formula prices.
"To forge iron, one must be strong oneself." The dairy industry, in any case, cannot achieve a "fragile rise." Shouting until one's voice breaks is not as good as rolling up one's sleeves and working. If our dairy quality indicators are solid, safety indicators are solid, and nutritional indicators are solid, then there is no need to worry about the return of consumer confidence. What international brand dairy companies can do, China's dairy industry can do the same, or even better. By then, domestic consumers will no longer have to go to great lengths to travel abroad to stock up.