Dairy sector scales new heights, minister says

The dairy sector has reached new heights with the development of large-scale farms and use of machinery after the 2008 milk scandal, Agriculture Minister Han Changfu said on Sunday.

The minister told reporters before the opening of the annual National People's Congress that large-scale dairy farms now account for 50 percent of the milk supply in the dairy sector, and use of machinery is commonplace.

Sales and production of the top 20 milk enterprises now takes up half of the whole sector, he said.

"All those changes are indicators that China's dairy sector is heading for rejuvenation," he said.

The dairy sector was hit hard after a 2008 scandal in which a number of farmers and manufacturers were found to have added melamine, a toxic chemical, to unprocessed milk.

Han said the authority will continue to step up the regulation on milk sources and the raising of dairy herds, and encourage the development of large-scale enterprises and name brands in the sector.

"I believe that someday foreign tourists will purchase Chinese milk powder when they visit China," he said.