On Thursday, May 16, in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, Ireland's Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Marine, Michael Creed, met with the leaders of China's two leading dairy companies, Yili and Mengniu.

“Inner Mongolia is known as the birthplace of the Chinese dairy industry, based on a tradition dating back thousands of years. Today’s meetings provided a unique opportunity to interact with these global companies in their home territory, ”the minister said.

During the meeting, opportunities were identified in various market segments: from cheese products for children to specialized nutrition for the elderly.

Tara McCarthy, director general of the Irish State Agency for the Department of Agriculture and Food (Bord Bia) commented on the meeting.

He said: “Bord Bia has identified China as a priority market for Ireland’s dairy, beef and seafood industry. And although we already have a strong presence in the dairy market, meetings with world leaders such as Yilli and Megniu are very important as we strive to expand our customer base and establish partnerships with some of the fastest growing dairy companies in the world. ”