Responding to the central government's call to revitalize the dairy industry, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has made efforts to construct milk bases and develop milk processing enterprises, both of which have yielded results.

Starting in 2019, Inner Mongolia’s dairy cow inventory and milk production began to achieve incredible growth. The autonomous region’s milk production volume is the only in the country exceeding 5 million metric tons per year.

Statistics show that in the third quarter of 2020, the number of dairy cows in Inner Mongolia reached 1.25 million, an increase of 3.57 percent, and the milk production volume reached 3.26 million tons, an increase of 4.41 percent.

The sales revenue of dairy product processing enterprises above designated size in Inner Mongolia was 93.47 billion yuan ($14.02 billion), accounting for 48.1 percent of the total sales revenue of the autonomous region’s agricultural and livestock product processing industry. 

Also, China’s dairy giants Yili and Mengniu ranked fifth and eighth in the global dairy industry. 

The dairy industry has become the most representative and competitive pillar industry in Inner Mongolia.

Last year, Inner Mongolia allocated 400 million yuan ($58.60 million) to support bovine breeding programs and dairy products.

Financial institutions issued a total of 13.7 billion yuan in loans to support the revitalization of the dairy industry in Inner Mongolia in 2020. They also supported the upgrading of national dairy food workshops, with an average subsidy of 500,000 yuan for each workshop. 

These subsidies were used to support the standardization of production facilities, processing and production, cold chain transportation and sanitation management.