Milk City Taking Shape in North China
HOHHOT, January 30 (Xinhua) -- Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has witnessed a fast growth of its dairy industry over the past few years.As two former local brands, Mengniu Milk and Yili Milk, have become household names in China, the city is gaining fame as the country's "Milk City".
According to the city's development plan, at least 20 percent of the city's gross industrial output value will be produced by the milk industry by 2005.
Some 300,000 head of cows will be raised and over 1.3 million tons of fresh milk produced by 2005. The city also plans to rake in 12 billion yuan (about 1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from the sale of dairy products in 2005.
According to Mayor Liu Xiu, substantial achievements were made in Hohhot last year.
The output value produced by animal husbandry stood at around one billion yuan (about 120.5 million U.S. dollars), accounting for 45 percent of the city's total value of farm produce.
And, 10 demonstration breeding centers for cows and 424 milking stations were established last year to help people increase their income from the milk business.
A total of 17,000 technical training programs have also been offered to farmers.
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