Analysis milk
China steps up pressure on EU dairy in trade row
China is increasing psychological pressure on the European dairy sector amid a wider trade dispute with the EU. There is no formal link between higher EU import duties on electric cars from China and European food exports to China, but in practical terms there is. First the meat sector was hit, then the dairy sector. Now specific companies are being scrutinised, China reports.
Read this article?
Become a subscriber and get instant access
Choose the subscription that suits you
The decision to send questionnaires to FrieslandCampina, the French Elle & Vire and the Italian Sterilgarda to find out whether these companies are part of an illegal subsidy network is certainly creating tension in the dairy sector: how will China use the answers from these companies, and what will happen next?
China has made a seemingly arbitrary choice with the companies mentioned, because what do the dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina, a French butter and cream producer and a Central Italian producer of fresh dairy and soft cheeses have in common? Perhaps little more than that they are all dairy companies and that they are all in the same European boat, and China only wants to 'demonstrate' that the entire EU system is flawed.
In itself, it does not seem too threatening for FrieslandCampina that China apparently wants to look primarily at the production of milk, cheese and cream, and not specifically at infant nutrition. However, there is no certainty about this. FrieslandCampina says for the time being that it does not know more than what ordinary citizens have (or could have) heard. Questionnaires have been sent, but that is it for now. In the meantime, companies may decide for themselves what the authorities in Beijing have in store for them. Further clarity will follow later.