HA NOI (Biz Hub)— National milk companies have increased powdered milk production to meet a higher demand on the domestic market.

Le Nguyen Hoa, deputy chairman of Dong Tam Nutrition Food Company (Nutifood), said the powdered milk market has recorded VND2.36 trillion (US$111.3 million) in revenue for 2012, which included 300 trademarks, mostly foreign.

However, Hoa said, imported powdered milk was costly and domestic products were up to 60 per cent cheaper and producers had better distribution systems.

That was why Nutrifood was building a powdered milk factory in Binh Duong Province with an annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes, he said.

Another firm, Viet Nam Dairy Company (Vinamilk) also seems to be reaping boom benefits. Vinamilk chairwoman Mai Kieu Lien said the company's powdered milk factory in Binh Duong Province had a capacity of 54,000 tonnes a year, which included products for children and the elderly and hospital patients. It had cornered 25.8 per cent of the market for children, she said.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam Customer Protection Association (Vinastas) deputy general director Vuong Ngoc Tuan said local powdered milk products met hygiene and quality standards and were much cheaper. — VNS