Dairy firms must improve

PREMIER WEN JIABAO STRESSED ON AUG 27, during his visit to a dairy company in Zhangbei county, Hebei province that China has a long-term task to develop its own dairy cattle breed, produce quality milk and dairy products and cultivate famous milk and dairy brands that not only dominate the Chinese market, but also take a lead in the world market.

China is the world's third largest milk producer, accounting for almost 6 percent of the global dairy output and it has 8 percent of world's dairy herds. But the milk output per cow in China is merely 4.6 tons a year, in contrast with 11.5 tons in Israel, 9.5 tons in Canada and 9.2 tons in the US.

Increasing production per cow is an efficient way to satisfy the growing demand from Chinese residents. The annual milk consumption per head of cattle in China is 26 kilograms, compared with the world standard of 95 kg.