China will import more than 400,000 metric tons of forage from Mongolia next year, in order to cope with the growing demand in China for dairy and other high-protein products, officials said earlier this month.
Import shipments have already started, with eight trucks carrying 200 tons of forage reaching the Zuunkhadavchi Land Port of Xilin Gol League in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Wednesday. This is also the first time that China is importing forage from Mongolia.
Since Mongolia’s eastern region is rich in stockbreeding resources, the government of Xilin Gol League signed an agreement with three Mongolian provinces to import forage.
China will import 100,000 tons of forage from Mongolia by the end of this year, and the annual import volume of forage is expected to exceed 400,000 tons in 2016.
Limited by its poor forage crop production, China used to import forage from the United States and Australia to support its stockbreeding industry. Rising prices of imported forage, alfalfa and corn silage have affected the nation’s raw milk output in the past two years. Most of the Chinese dairy farms lack access to quality feed for their cattle and cows.