19 Nov China sends dairy demand soaring
Milk prices are climbing around the globe and have reached multiyear highs, driven in part by a surprising surge in demand from China, a country where not so long ago it was next to impossible to get dairy products.
This new world this is summarised in a Wall Street Journal headline: “Sweet Cheeses! The Milk Road to China Is Driving Dairy Prices Higher.”
The story describes how Chinese people have developed a taste for nai gai cha, or tea topped with cream cheese, and have been incorporating cheese into other traditional foods, such as glutinous rice balls, fried rice, and spring rolls.
The rising demand hasn’t affected US dairy producers yet, but analysts believe that it will, despite trade tensions between the US and China, because of shortages in Europe and Australia.
What about the East Asian propensity toward lactose intolerance (70%-100% in some communities)? A little suffering is worth it, young Chinese people told the WSJ, especially if it comes from eating ice cream in hot weather.
Wholesale prices of skim-milk powder, a common ingredient in commercially produced ice cream, chocolate, cakes and breads, have risen by 31%, 39% and 49% in the US, Europe and Oceania, respectively, in the past year.
In November, the average price for the commodity across the three regions was $2,683 a metric ton, its highest average level since October 2014, according to data from the US Dairy Export Council. Prices for whole-milk powder, meanwhile, are up about 14% from a year earlier.
They began climbing earlier, thanks to rising global consumption of foods that contain higher amounts of natural fat. Both types of milk powder are used in large quantities, and some food manufacturers use a combination of skim milk and edible oils to mimic the fat composition of whole milk.
The cheese tea phenomenon
Cheese tea is actually green or black tea that is topped with a foam made from salty or sweet cream cheese, milk, and whipping cream. The drink is typically garnished with a dash of sea salt. Cheese tea is also commonly called milk cap tea or cheese mousse tea.
Cheese tea is wildly popular in Asian countries including Malaysia, Taiwan, and China. In Asia, cheese tea has been around for several years, although it’s only recently become an international sensation.
In Chinese, Malaysian, and Taiwanese cheese tea shops, tea masters recommend drinking the beverage straight from the edge of the cup and not blending the layers.
This drinking technique allows one taste the creamy, thick texture of the cream cheese foam before it blends with the tea mixture in your mouth for a full-bodied experience. Tilt the cup to about a 40-degree angle before taking a sip. Don’t use a plastic straw or you’ll only get the flavour of the tea.
Source: www.cupandleaf.com
The higher prices are good news for dairy farmers around the globe who have suffered through several years of low returns and milk gluts in some areas. In 2016, large quantities of excess milk were dumped in fields and other places in the US following a drop in prices.
New Zealand-based Fonterra Dairy Co-Operative Group, the world’s largest dairy exporter, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of China’s thirst for imported milk products. The country is one of its biggest customers. The company said in late October it is selling its skim milk powder at higher prices than European and US dairy companies, and expects sales of whole-milk powder to increase.
Source: Wall Street Journal