National dairy sci-tech conference held in Hohhot

The ninth China Dairy Science and Technology Conference was held on July 23 in Hohhot – capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – with the goal of mapping out a path for the future development of the area's dairy industry.

The conference attracted the participation of leading experts, academics and business representatives engaged in the dairy, lactic acid bacteria and associated industries.

They exchanged views and helped develop a platform for exchanges and cooperation for scientists and entrepreneurs and for the use of technology, to help with the high-quality development of the dairy sector, which is one of Hohhot's – and Inner Mongolia's – most competitive industries.

In 2019, under the support and guidance of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Hohhot launched the construction of the National Dairy Technology Innovation Center.

Among five industrial parks in Hohhot, two focus on cultivating and developing dairy industry clusters – namely the Chilechuan Dairy Development Zone and the Holinger Dairy Development Zone.

In 2020, the city's dairy industry achieved revenue of 220 billion yuan ($34.01 billion), accounting for 51 percent of the country's total dairy sales.

During the next five-year period, plans are for Hohhot to promote the downstream extension of the industry supply chain and boost the value chain to the mid-to-high end.

The Yili Modern Smart Health Valley project has been included as a key project in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) for both the autonomous region and Hohhot. It is widely regarded as being of great significance to Hohhot in terms of its development into an upgraded version of "China's Dairy City".