Secretary-General Fang Yousheng of the Chinese Dairy Association said in Shenzhen Tuesday that the country's per capita milk consumption in 2002 may climb up from 7.3 kilograms last year to eight.
The prediction was made at a Summit Forum on China's dairy industry development and the 2002 China Shenzhen International Dairy Industrial Fair.
According to Fang, despite the large gap with the world average of 90 kilograms, China's milk production has witnessed rapid progress in past few years.
In 2001, the country's total output of milk reached a record high of 10.29 million tons, with a revenue of 20 billion yuan (about US$2.41 billion) for the industry.
As the Ministry of Agriculture had taken a range of measures to speed up the development of the dairy industry, Fang predicted that by 2005, China's annual per capita milk consumption may increase to 10 kilograms.
(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2002)
