Mengniu Dairy chief executive Yiping Sun told Rural News, last week at the World Dairy Summit in Yokohama, that consumers’ trust can only be won by delivering high quality dairy products.
“The false botulism scare attracted media and public attention not only in China, but also in the world. The issue again told us that food safety is the base of our development,” she says.
“In China, we have an old saying ‘to work like walking on ice’. I always feel I am walking on ice when I manage this large scale leading dairy company.
“China is a big market. It does not matter if you are a foreign company or a local company, as long as your product quality is high, you can win consumers’ trust.”
Mengniu has no immediate plans to invest in New Zealand. But Sun says it is exploring opportunities “as long as the cooperation helps us to produce better products for consumers”. “Safety is surely the priority in considering our business expansion.”
Addressing the 2000 delegates at the summit, Sun outlined how Mengniu was tapping into global resources to improve the Chinese dairy industry.
European co-op Arla Foods is a shareholder and its products are sold in China through Mengniu’s sales network. The two companies have set up Sino-Danish Dairy Product Technology Cooperation Center. Sun says it promotes Danish dairy technology to Chinese farms. “We believe as the leading dairy in China, it’s our responsibility to make sure the whole Chinese dairy industry improves.”
She told Rural News Mengniu is also seeking to work with New Zealand companies. “In April this year, we partnered with AsureQuality to set up a third party independent certifying company. The cooperation will help Mengniu bring world leading food safety standards to China which cover the complete chain of the dairy industry including pasture and production process management.
“It will also help push forward China’s dairy industry to be in line with world dairy development.”
According to Sun, milk consumption in China is well below the world average and Mengniu is ready to work with other dairy players to improve this.
• Sudesh Kissun attended the 2013 World Dairy Summit in Yokohama, Japan with the assistance of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
