Is China Buying More Dairy Products Again?

Imports of all dairy products into China have shot up in January 2016, an overall increase of 51 per cent in volume over the same month last year, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) National Dairy Committee Chairman Sean O’Leary has revealed.

Mr O’Leary said the increase affected all products, and emphasised the importance of the Chinese market for global demand.

“It is not unreasonable to think we may be seeing the first signs that the most important global buyer is back on the market," he added.

“After all, they must by now have worked their way through much of the stocks acquired in the buying spree of 2013-14, and their domestic production, while increased from that period, still lags behind domestic demand.” – Click here to read more.

In dairy research news, scientists have found that the quality of colostrum can be predicted by the mother's previous lactation performance and weather.

Research from the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire found that the more lactations the cow has had in the past, the higher the quality of colostrum in the future. It also showed that colostrum produced during winter was poorer quality.

This method allows dairy producers to predict colostrum quality before the calf is born and to estimate colostrum quality without having to collect it – read more.