(Yicai Global) April 22 -- Dairy firms across China posted mixed performances for the first quarter, with powdered milk producers benefiting from anxious stockpilers and blips in cross-border trade.

China Feihe believes it was unaffected by the pandemic and boosted earnings by at least 30 for the January through March period, while Ausnutria Dairy paid 27 percent more tax for the period than last year, about CNY114 million (USD16.1 million). Abbott Laboratories’ Chief Executive Robert Ford also said his firm’s nutrition business in China performed well in the first quarter and that it will be adjusting its figures for the second quarter.

These firms were supported by increased consumer purchasing of powdered milk during the quarter, several dealers told Yicai Global. Many customers stocked up on powder in February and March, buying enough to last around three months and producing a spike in sales.

Another plus for local firms was the suspension of overseas e-commerce buying, which pushed shoppers toward domestic purchase channels, milk industry analyst Song Liang said, adding that second-quarter sales should make for an interesting read.

Liquid milk suppliers were less fortunate. Yantang Dairy expects profit fell between 91 percent and 93 percent to between CNY766,000 (USD108,100) and CNY985,000; New Hope Dairy projects a loss of CNY22 million (USD3.1 million) to CNY27 million; and Lanzhou Zhuangyuan Pasture thinks it lost between CNY9 million and CNY12.4 million.

Demand for milk overall was lower during the pandemic, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. Large milk producers made nearly 3.4 million tons of milk products in January and February, down 17.5 percent on the year, 237 of the 561 companies surveyed made a loss during the period, up from 127 a year earlier.

Editor: James Boynton