2010-03-25 15:12

SHANGHAI: A total of 27,000 tons of dairy products valued at $60 million were imported through Shanghai Port in the first two months of this year, said the local branch of China Customs.

The imports were up 8.3 percent year-on-year, and the value rose 25.5 percent, said a statement.

Customs officials attributed the import growth to distrust of domestic dairy products caused by new occurrences of contaminated milk powder and higher costs of domestic products.

Imported dairy products were priced at an average 22,000 yuan ($3,221) per ton, down from 43,000 yuan per ton before the global economic downturn.

Production costs for domestic dairy products had soared, as raw milk prices rose 80 percent to 32,000 yuan per ton and the sugar price doubled.

Ninety percent of dairy product imports through Shanghai Port came from New Zealand, the United States and the European Union.