The IDB has launched UHT milk under the Kerrygold brand in China. The new product will be manufactured by Lakeland in Killeshandra and will enter the mainstream premium mass market in China.

With a shelf life of nine months, it is ideal for the Chinese market which has an under developed cold chain. It will retail at the equivalent of €4/L and this shows the premiums that are available for milk in this huge market.

This new milk will be targeted mainly at children. Gifting is a also a target as it is a large market in the premium segment here in China, according to Iwan Brandsma, international business development director, with the IDB.

He says “that when visiting a home, Chinese people bring milk as it is seen as a healthy nutritious product, much the same as Europeans may bring wine”.

He added that “today marks IDB’s entry into the Chinese mass market. We want to make Kerrygold whole milk as widely available as possible and we are here for the long term. He added that there is huge opportunity here and we see considerable potential to develop our business, not only in liquid milk, but also in cheese and butter”.

Speaking on Newstalk Business Breakfast this morning, Gene Kelly from the National Dairy Board said they were targeting the premium end of the market which would be "186 million households". Kelly said the NDB were busy building markets around the world for the additional milk that would result from the end of quotas next year and "China will play a key role in that growth strategy".