How can domestic milk boost confidence through high standards?

In the past few days, two pieces of news related to China's dairy industry have attracted much attention. First, the "China Dairy Industry Quality Report (2016)" released for the first time in our country shows that the level of dairy quality and safety in our country has improved significantly, and the pass rate of nationwide dairy product spot checks in 2015 reached 99.5%. Second, the State Food and Drug Administration released draft versions of two supporting documents for public comment, namely the "Requirements for the Items and Content of Application Materials for Formula Registration of Infant Formula Milk Powder Products" and the "Key Points and Judgment Principles for On-site Verification of Formula Registration of Infant Formula Milk Powder Products," which industry insiders believe have stricter standards and system requirements, and many foreign milk powders that do not meet China's standards will be blocked from entering the country.

Putting the two pieces of news together precisely shows that the revitalization of our country's dairy industry depends on stronger capabilities, higher standards, and stricter supervision. The new milk powder policy has been introduced, clarifying the bottom line that production and operating enterprises "must achieve," but relevant enterprises must also prevent using the excuse that "anything not prohibited by law can be done" to exploit loopholes in the new policy, and prevent wrangling over the differences that exist between international standards and Chinese standards. Therefore, in the process of implementing the new milk powder policy, it is necessary to establish a stricter exit mechanism and punishment mechanism, increase the cost of violations and rule-breaking for some unscrupulous enterprises, and make them respect consumers and the order of the market economy. At the same time, it is also necessary to improve the "visibility" of the evaluation system of relevant departments, force milk powder production enterprises to abide by principles, promote the healthy development of China's milk powder industry, and let consumers regain confidence in the domestic milk market.

As foreign milk powder adjusts its marketing strategy in the Chinese market, prices begin to loosen, and the impact of more and more "overseas online shopping" grows, competition in the domestic infant milk powder market will become more intense. The new milk powder regulations have put a "tightening band" on "overseas online shopping" milk powder, and some foreign milk powders that do not meet our country's standards will be "kept out," which for domestic milk powder enterprises is equivalent to having fewer competitors. But if domestic dairy enterprises want to truly win back the market, they still need to strictly grasp quality, build brands, and reduce costs through large-scale, intensive, and standardized farming.