Chinese vice president visits Irish Dairygold farm

The Chinese vice president, Xi Jinping, has recently paid a visit to the dairy farm of James Lynch in County Clare, Ireland. The visit by the future Chinese leader was facilitated to allow Xi observe the quality milk production and farming techniques in operation in Irish agriculture today, according to Dairygold.

Lynch supplies his milk to Dairygold, Ireland’s largest co-operative milk processor. Dairygold Food Ingredients exports some of the ingredients for infant formula to China and Lynch was proud to demonstrate the link between his farm and the product Dairygold supplies to Chinese consumers.

In 2011 Dairygold Food Ingredients became the leading supplier to the Chinese market of demineralised whey, a key ingredient of infant formula. Dairygold began trading with China ten years ago in 2001. Over the intervening period sales have grown considerably involving demineralised whey powders, whey protein concentrates (WPC’s) and specialised milk powders, which are mostly used in infant formula.

Ireland’s single biggest food export to China is infant formula, and was worth €85 million in 2010. Ireland is also the largest exporter of infant formula in the world, producing over 15% of the total global supply annually.

Lynch is also currently vice chairman of the board of Dairygold Co-Operative Society and in this capacity, he visited China in November 2011 as part of a Dairygold Trade Mission to the country, where he was one of the invited guests at a special dinner hosted at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square by the China Dairy Association.

James’ farm is 87 hectares in size and supports a herd of 120 pedigree Friesian dairy cows, as well as a smaller herd of beef cattle. The vice president left a special namesake behind him in Ireland following his visit to the farm. Lynch informed the Chinese leader that the Friesian heifer calf born on the farm the night before the visit is now named after him.