(Yicai) Nov. 13 -- Imports of milk, once a top-selling product on China's e-commerce platforms, declined in the first three quarters of this year due to rising production costs and intense competition.

From January to September, imports of liquid milk fell 25 percent to 303,000 tons year-over-year, according to the latest dairy trade report.

The main reason behind the decline is that imported milk no longer offers a cost advantage, said Song Liang, an independent dairy analyst, in an interview with Yicai. Over the past two years, milk production costs have risen abroad, while marine transport costs have also increased, he noted. Additionally, price wars in China have intensified, he added.

Zhang Yuan, a dairy merchant based in Ningbo, told Yicai that his firm has paused imports of a particular brand due to a price increase of over 30 percent.

Meanwhile, in China, raw milk prices are at their lowest levels, according to an executive at a renowned foreign-funded dairy company. This has made domestic brands more competitive, with catering companies increasingly favoring local dairy products, the executive said.

In the medium and long term, imported milk will remain a key source of milk consumption in China. However, in the short term, domestic products are highly competitive, making it unlikely that demand for imports will surge, Song said.

China's milk imports began to decline in 2022 after years of growth. From 2013 to 2021, milk imports saw a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent, from 2013's 195,000 tons to 996,000 tons in 2021, according to statistics from the Dairy Association of China.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine