中国乳制品月报(乳制品中国新闻202210)

Welcome to the October issue of Dairy Products China News.

Whilst still achieving growth levels which elude most western countries, China's economy is in a state of transition, with total export revenues now challenged by US sanctions and imports flat in September overall, despite the much higher imports from Russia (+53.9% to USD10.7 billion). At least there are signs of life in the dairy imports for the month after a difficult year so far.

The country's moves towards greater self-security in food are part of its strategy to rely less on overseas supply, which can be difficult and sometimes expensive – whether due to supplier non-performance, logistical hold ups, production shortfalls or the policies of governments and international institutions. The problems which can be posed by overseas governments are well exemplified by New Zealand's ending live animal exports from next April and the Australian commitment to phasing these out from 2025, and by New Zealand's plans to introduce farm-level levies to achieve emissions reductions, surely implying much higher prices for its dairy commodities – if implemented as suggested. Meanwhile it seems likely that the new regulations from the International Maritime Organization and soon from the EU will push up the costs of moving containers internationally.