Taiwan, China's fresh milk is too expensive and not fresh enough, questioned by the Consumers' Foundation
Imported fresh milk clearly takes a boat to Taiwan and arrives at least 30 days later, so why can it be labeled and sold as "fresh milk"? The Consumers' Foundation held a press conference, proposing that our country should follow the example of Germany and the United States and clearly define this type of "fresh milk" as "extended shelf-life milk," distinguishing it from true "fresh milk."
The Consumers' Foundation also believes that the gap between the domestic retail price of fresh milk and the purchase cost of raw milk is at least 50 yuan, and questions whether producers are seeking excessive profits. However, Gong Jianjia, founder of Fresh Milk Workshop, believes that the Consumers' Foundation underestimates distribution channel costs. For ordinary fresh milk, shelf-placement fees in distribution channels account for 15 to 30% of the final retail price, which is the main reason consumers bear a relatively high unit price for fresh milk, and brand owners may not necessarily make much profit.
Zhu Jinfan, a member of the editorial committee of the Consumers' Foundation, believes that Taiwan should clearly define "extended shelf-life milk."
Getting consumers to recognize that local milk is "fresher"
As for whether "extended shelf-life milk" should be defined, Gong Jianjia believes that the Taiwanese public generally is not clear about the standards for fresh milk, shelf-stable milk, and flavored milk, and suddenly defining a new "extended shelf-life milk" may have little practical significance. "But the fact that milk that takes more than 20 days by boat to Taiwan can be called 'fresh milk' is indeed a problem." Therefore, a more appropriate approach should be to strengthen the ability of local milk to be placed on shelves.