SYDNEY, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Under a blue sky and white clouds in the middle of summer on a recent day, herds of cows grazed peacefully on pastures in South Gippsland, a region in Australia's southeastern state of Victoria.
"There are about 700 cows on the farm. We can probably produce more than 17,000 litres of fresh milk a day," farmer Clint Staley told Xinhua, adding that a boom was expected for this year.
Starley is one of many farmers in South Gippsland Shire, about 160 km southeast of Melbourne.
The region is home to about 10 percent of Victoria's dairy farms. More than 30,000 people live in the area, and there are seven times as many cows.
As dairy is one of the most important industries in the region, and China remains the biggest importer of dairy produce from Australia, the development of the country's companies in the Chinese market is of great significance, local business leaders and officials said.
"China is our largest single market and the most important market for our business," said Jon McNaught, chief executive officer at ViPlus Dairy, one of Australia's leading nutritional and functional milk powder manufacturers.
"China makes up over 80 percent of our business," McNaught said. "We supply a mixture of products -- infant formula, adult formula and pregnancy formula, but also whole milk and skim milk powder."
ViPlus Dairy, which boasts a history of over 130 years, has participated in every one of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), a trade fair held annually in Shanghai, China, since 2018.
"CIIE is a very important part of our business interaction with China," McNaught said. "They're very important part of our trade with China, so to meet our current customers but also to find out new trends and new business that may be going on."
The company plans to continue to attend the CIIE this year to explore more opportunities in the Chinese market, he said.
While all markets around the world are going through a bit of uncertainty, the China base is still strong and the consumer market is still healthy, the ViPlus CEO said.
South Gippsland Shire Council's manager of economy, community and investment Christian Stefani said Asian markets, including China, southeast Asia and Middle East, are all very important markets to the region for numerous products.
"We are very proud of the products that are produced in South Gippsland," Stefani said. "They are renowned across the world in terms of being produced from a very clean and green environment."
The local community is very proud of how important the dairy sector is not just to South Gippsland, but also to Victoria, Australia, the council manager said.
"So when people think of South Gippsland, they often think about dairy production and that's something we are very proud of," Stefani said.
He also hoped that more and more Chinese tourists would visit South Gippsland to experience its beautiful scenery and unique farming culture, and deepen their understanding of local dairy products. ■
