Report of the China Dairy Expo 2020
Last weekend, Agricultural Counsellor Wouter Verhey, together with Agricultural Officer Mengyao Pan attended the China Dairy Exhibition 2020 in Shijiazhuang, were seven leading Dutch companies were presented in the Netherlands Pavilion to show their experience and expertise in modern dairy farming.
On Sunday, the Dutch Embassy in Beijing organized the Sino-Dutch seminar. For a full room of people, Wouter delivered a speech emphasizing the importance of cross border collaboration and circular agriculture. This was followed by several Dutch companies presenting their role within the value chain and their vision on how to make the sector more sustainable.
Followed by the presentations of the Dutch companies, Professor at the Agricultural University and General Director of the Sino Dutch Dairy Development Centre (SDDDC), Mr. Li Shengli spoke about the influence of COVID-19 on the dairy sector. He noted that despite the pandemic, the dairy sector in China showed growth. Chinese dairy giant Yili took the place of Royal Friesland Campina as being the fifth biggest dairy company globally, and Chinese consumers continue to consume more milk.
During the seminar, professor Li also presented the report titled: 10 Lessons Learned in the International Dairy Sector During COVID19. The Netherlands Pavilion and the seminar were overall very well visited and attended. "It was clear that everyone was very excited to be able to physically meet again" according to Wouter. And despite the limited presence of non-chinese attendees due to travel restrictions, there were still plenty of network opportunities during the three-day exhibition.