Opinions on Further Promoting the Revitalisation of the Dairy Industry

Document No.: Nongmufa [2018] 18

Issuing Authorities: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA); National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC); Ministry of Science and Technology; Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT); Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Commerce; National Health Commission (NHC); State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR); China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC)

Date: 24 December 2018

 

To the people’s governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; and to all departments and agencies directly under the State Council:

In order to implement the Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Revitalisation of the Dairy Industry and Ensuring Dairy Quality and Food Safety (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), and in accordance with the spirit of the National Conference on Advancing Dairy Industry Revitalisation, to further clarify objectives and tasks, highlight priorities, increase policy support, and promote the development of the dairy industry, the following Opinions are hereby put forward with the approval of the State Council.

I. Objectives and Tasks

In accordance with the requirements of the Opinions, with the goal of achieving comprehensive revitalisation of the dairy industry, we shall optimise the dairy production layout, innovate the dairy development model, establish and improve a production and management system based on large-scale dairy farming by dairy farmers, strengthen the linkage of interests across all segments of the industrial chain, boost consumer confidence in dairy products, and endeavour to achieve a national milk output of 45 million tonnes by 2025, thereby effectively enhancing the quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of China’s dairy industry.

II. Accelerating the Establishment of Large-Scale Dairy Farming by Dairy Farmers as the Foundational Basis

(1) Support the development of moderately scaled farming by individual households.

Research and refine policy measures to promote the development of large-scale dairy farming by individual households; actively develop family dairy farms; cultivate and strengthen dairy farmers’ cooperatives; strengthen dairy farmer training and the construction of a socialised service system for the dairy industry; and build a dairy development model of “dairy farmer + cooperative + enterprise,” with pilot programmes first conducted in major dairy-producing provinces (regions) such as Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Hebei, to cultivate moderately scaled dairy farming entities. (Led by MARA)

(2) Support dairy farmers in developing dairy processing.

Promote the integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries; introduce supporting policies related to financial and credit support, and guarantees for land and electricity use; and support dairy farms and cooperatives that meet the necessary conditions in producing dairy products with local characteristics. (NDRC, MIIT, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources, MARA, People’s Bank of China, SAMR, CBIRC, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

Accelerate the revision of the dairy industry industrial policy, relaxing restrictions on the radius of dairy processing layout and daily processing capacity, among other limitations. Encourage dairy farmers and cooperatives to integrate dairy cattle farming with dairy processing and value-added services. Subject to strict compliance with production licensing, food safety standards, and other laws, regulations, and standards, and with the precondition that dairy quality and safety are ensured, implement integrated production, processing, and sales; develop dairy supply for residential communities and surrounding hotels, restaurants, and shops; focus on producing pasteurised milk, fermented milk, cheese, and other dairy products; serve local and surrounding communities through direct sales, e-commerce, and other channels; actively cultivate the fresh milk consumption market; and meet demands for high-quality, differentiated, and personalised products. (MIIT, MARA, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

(3) Strengthen insurance and loan support for farming.

Improve dairy cattle farming insurance policies, raise the level of protection, and reduce farming risks. Encourage localities to explore pilot programmes for raw milk target price insurance in light of local conditions, so as to stabilise expectations of farming returns. Include loans for eligible small and medium-sized dairy farms in the national agricultural credit guarantee system for support. (Ministry of Finance, MARA, People’s Bank of China, CBIRC, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

III. Reducing Dairy Cattle Feed Costs

(4) Vigorously develop high-quality forage industries.

Promote the integration of crop farming and animal husbandry in agricultural areas; explore semi-grazing, semi-shed-feeding models in pastoral areas; study and promote grass cultivation and cattle farming in the agro-pastoral ecotone; expand the scope of the grain-to-forage conversion policy to all major dairy farming counties; and vigorously promote whole-plant maize silage. (Led by MARA)

Research and refine the action plan for the revitalisation of the dairy industry through alfalfa development; support large-scale alfalfa planting in Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, and other advantageous production areas; and encourage scientific research and innovation to increase the yield and quality of domestically produced alfalfa. (MARA and Ministry of Finance shall perform their respective duties.)

Summarise and promote a selection of exemplary cases that reduce forage and feed costs and ensure local supply. (MARA shall take responsibility.)

(5) Enhance the standard of forage and feed processing and production, and farming equipment.

Include the purchase by dairy farms of qualified Total Mixed Ration (TMR) preparation equipment, as well as other farming and forage/feed processing machinery, within the scope of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies. (MARA and Ministry of Finance shall perform their respective duties.)

Strengthen research and development support and promotion for alfalfa and other forage/feed harvesting and processing machinery. (MIIT, MARA, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

IV. Improving Dairy Cattle Production Efficiency

(6) Increase the supply of improved dairy cattle breeds.

Support the construction of national dairy cattle (dairy goat) core breeding farms and bull stations; improve the improved breeding system; cultivate high-quality domestic dairy cattle breeds; and enhance the capacity for improved breeding and dissemination. (MARA, NDRC, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

(7) Expand the scale of precision feeding for dairy cattle.

Enhance the service capacity of dairy cattle production performance testing centres; expand the scope of tested dairy cattle; and gradually cover all large-scale dairy farms, so as to adjust forage and feed formulations based on tested milk composition and achieve precision feeding management for dairy cattle. (MARA, NDRC, and Ministry of Finance shall perform their respective duties.)

(8) Support the construction of farming and manure treatment and utilisation facilities.

Guide local governments in strengthening the standardised upgrading and renovation of small and medium-sized dairy farms, with a focus on supporting shed renovation, farming facility and equipment upgrades, and milking machinery replacement. Include eligible dairy cattle farming manure treatment and utilisation within the scope of projects supporting the resource utilisation of livestock and poultry manure; implement this in stages; and ensure renovations meet required standards. (MARA, NDRC, Ministry of Finance, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

(9) Strengthen the construction of a socialised service system for the dairy industry.

Support the construction of a socialised service system for dairy cattle farming; innovate technical service models for dairy cattle farming; and intensify training for dairy farm owners and key staff members. Actively carry out services for improved dairy cattle breeding, feeding management, disease prevention and control, dairy farming machinery maintenance, production material procurement, and product processing and sales, so as to promote cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency gains in the dairy industry. Promote the construction of a national digital dairy information service cloud platform. (Led by MARA, with MIIT and other relevant departments performing their respective duties.)

V. Strengthening and Enhancing the Dairy Processing Industry

(10) Optimise the structure of dairy products.

Develop marketable low-temperature dairy products; support and guide the production of cheese, butter, and other dried dairy products; and develop distinctive dairy products such as goat milk, buffalo milk, and yak milk. Encourage the use of raw milk in the production of pasteurised milk, fermented milk, formulated milk, and infant formula milk powder, among other dairy products. (MIIT, MARA, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

(11) Enhance the competitiveness of dairy products.

Encourage dairy enterprises to strengthen cold chain storage and transportation facility construction. Endeavour to establish a dairy quality and safety traceability system and a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system in enterprises above designated size within three years. Support innovation and research and development in dairy products; optimise processing technology and product structure; improve cold chain transportation and quality and safety systems; enhance operational management capabilities; reduce production, distribution, and sales costs; and improve product quality and efficiency. (MIIT, Ministry of Commerce, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

(12) Enhance the competitiveness of domestically produced infant formula milk powder.

Improve the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) system; continue to implement the strictest regulatory system; and endeavour within three years to significantly improve the quality, competitiveness, and reputation of domestically produced infant formula milk powder and increase its market share. Relying on existing institutions, strengthen research and development on core nutritional components of infant formula milk powder and enhance the capacity to provide services to enterprises. (NDRC, Ministry of Science and Technology, MIIT, Ministry of Finance, MARA, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

VI. Promoting the Integrated Development of Farming and Processing

(13) Support processing enterprises in giving back to dairy farmers.

Adopt forms such as mutual shareholding between processing enterprises and dairy farmers to establish mutually beneficial and win-win ties. Through means such as shareholding with farming sheds and dairy cattle, and shareholding with subsidy funds, encourage processing enterprises to support dairy farmers through secondary dividends, premium purchases, and profit guarantees, so as to effectively safeguard the reasonable returns of dairy farmers and guide the specialised and refined development of farming. (MIIT, Ministry of Finance, MARA, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

(14) Rectify the order of raw milk procurement.

The provincial people’s governments of major dairy-producing provinces (regions) shall adopt strong measures and promptly establish a raw milk price consultation mechanism to ensure reasonable returns for the farming and processing segments. Supervise the signing and performance of standardised raw milk procurement contracts; exclude abusive clauses; and seriously investigate and punish violations of contract stipulations and “unwritten rules.” Investigate and publicly announce, in accordance with the law, acts of non-performance of raw milk purchase and sales contracts, as well as acts of forcing the sale of veterinary drugs, feed, and farming equipment through procurement relationships. (Led by MARA, with MIIT, SAMR, and other relevant departments performing their respective duties.)

VII. Improving Dairy Quality and Safety Standards

(15) Actively promote third-party testing.

Encourage major dairy-producing provinces (regions) with the necessary conditions to explore the establishment of prefecture-level third-party quality testing centres for raw milk procurement through subsidies and fees paid by both buyers and sellers, so as to clarify testing authority and reduce quality disputes in raw milk procurement and sales. Strengthen the research and development of testing technology and resource sharing, facilitate testing for dairy farmers, and ensure cost savings and fairness and impartiality. Support major dairy counties, enterprises, and dairy farmers with the necessary conditions in building their own dairy inspection and testing systems. (Led by MARA, with MIIT, Ministry of Finance, SAMR, and other relevant departments performing their respective duties.)

(16) Strengthen dairy quality and safety regulation.

Establish and improve the dairy quality standards system; revise food safety national standards provisions; and formulate food safety national standards for reconstituted milk testing methods and liquid milk processing technology standards. (MIIT, MARA, NHC, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

Strengthen the capacity building for dairy quality and safety regulation, focusing on enhancing regulatory capacity at the grassroots level. Strengthen quality and safety regulation, inspection, and monitoring of dairy production and processing, storage and transportation, distribution and sales, and other segments; for different production types and scales, innovate regulatory approaches; increase the density of regulation; and ensure dairy quality and safety. Increase the intensity of dairy quality and safety regulatory information disclosure to enhance the transparency and credibility of regulatory work. (MARA, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

Strictly implement the reconstituted milk labelling system and investigate and punish enterprises that use reconstituted milk without labelling, in accordance with the law. (Led by SAMR, with MIIT, MARA, and other relevant departments performing their respective duties.)

VIII. Promoting Major Dairy-Producing Provinces (Regions) to Take the Lead in Achieving Dairy Industry Revitalisation

(17) Intensify efforts to drive progress.

Major dairy-producing provinces (regions) shall fulfil their responsibilities for dairy industry revitalisation, and in accordance with their environmental conditions, resource carrying capacity, and market demand, and following the requirements of benchmarking against international standards and demonstrating domestically, formulate their own provincial (regional) dairy industry revitalisation plans, proposing objectives, tasks, and policy measures for promoting dairy industry revitalisation, and file these with MARA, MIIT, and other relevant departments for the record. Strengthen organisational coordination and supervision and guidance to take the lead in achieving comprehensive dairy industry revitalisation. Relevant departments of the State Council shall increase policy and technical support for dairy industry revitalisation in major dairy-producing provinces (regions). (NDRC, MIIT, Ministry of Finance, MARA, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

IX. Vigorously Guiding and Promoting Dairy Product Consumption

(18) Strengthen publicity and guidance.

Increase public welfare publicity for the dairy industry; support extensive publicity of dairy industry achievements in mainstream and new media; establish a positive image for China’s dairy industry; and raise public awareness and trust. Advocate scientific milk consumption; disseminate nutritional knowledge about pasteurised milk, sterilised milk, cheese, and other dairy products; and cultivate the habit among the population of consuming dairy products, particularly dried dairy products. Leverage the self-regulatory role of industry associations; guide dairy enterprises to adopt the positioning of “enabling every Chinese person to enjoy good milk”; research and develop dairy products suitable for different consumer groups; avoid excessive packaging and advertising; and genuinely pass on benefits to consumers. (Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, Cyberspace Administration of China, MIIT, MARA, Ministry of Commerce, NHC, SAMR, and other relevant departments shall perform their respective duties.)

All regions and relevant departments shall strengthen the fulfilment of their responsibilities. In accordance with the requirements of these Opinions, and in light of their actual conditions, they shall clarify objectives, tasks, and division of responsibilities, so as to ensure that all efforts to promote dairy industry revitalisation are effectively implemented.