Global strides

On March 26, Yili inked an agreement with the Netherlands for a Chinese dairy R&D center at Wageningen University to study variability in milk composition and create a food safety identification system.

In 2014, Yili's first major overseas plant was set up in Glenavy, South Canterbury, New Zealand , with a total investment of more than 3 billion yuan ($483 million).

Yili formed a strategic alliance with Italian dairy producer Sterilgarda Alimenti SpA to produce liquid milk products for the domestic market in China.

Yili also signed a deal with US milk cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America, to set up a dairy plant in Kansas. The new plant plans to produce 80,000 tons of milk powder a year.

China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/03/2015 page21)