The head of Asia’s largest dairy company has called on the industry to “build a new global dairy ecosystem” to try and redefine the sector’s future.
Yili Group chairman and president, Pan Gang, told delegates at the World Dairy Conference that “prosperity is not a solo act, but a symphony” and Yili is committed to joining hands with global partners “to forge a new path of shared value and mutual harmony.”
This will largely consist of building “three new ecosystems” for innovation, digital intelligence, and green development which can “deliver China’s answer”, he said.
China’s dairy production
Yili is now one of the world’s top five dairy companies with annual revenues exceeding RMB100bn for five consecutive years.
Pan Gang said the company had helped improve China’s dairy production with indicators such as protein and fat content now surpassing EU standards. It is, he suggested, “a remarkable leap in quality – from catching up to taking the lead”.
In a speech that primarily consisted of listing Yili’s achievements, he gave few details of exactly what these three global ecosystems could look like but encouraged groups to come together to “harness the momentum of this transformative era”.
Most detail was given on a ‘digital intelligence ecosystem’, where Yili’s new Dairy Data Intelligence Hub “will take the lead in filling the gap in industry-specific datasets” to benefit the entire industry chain.
Meanwhile to aid a collective green transition, Pan Gang said Yili has launched the Net-Zero Carbon Alliance and the Global Low Water Footprint Initiative to explore “a dual-footprint” solution for whole-chain emission reduction with over 200 global partners.
Yili’s innovation proposals
China’s dual-footprint goal is a target to hit a carbon peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Yili’s other proposal on innovation was more vague – devoid of any detail, Pan Gang simply noted “the depth of openness defines the height of innovation, while the scale of inclusiveness reveals the true value of technology.”
Yili is based in Hohhot, a city in the northern Chinese autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. In his speech, Pan Gang said Hohhot was now the “World Dairy Capital”.