Heilongjiang Feihe Dairy Co., Ltd. (Feihe Dairy) has received approval for the production licence of its Phase I intelligent dairy processing project in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, marking the start of trial production at what is expected to become the company's largest deep-processing base in China.
The facility's spray-drying tower production line has completed full-scale material commissioning, with its first batch of qualified powdered milk successfully produced. The milestone marks the transition of the facility from construction and equipment commissioning into trial operations, with the integrated production line now running across raw material reception, processing and packaging under an intelligent closed-loop control system.
Covering approximately 130,000 square metres, the Phase I project has attracted cumulative investment of around RMB260 million (approximately $38.29 million). The facility has been designed to process 1,000 tonnes of fresh milk per day and includes supporting production workshops, cold-storage facilities and testing centres.
Designed as Feihe Dairy's largest deep-processing base nationwide, the facility has been developed to high manufacturing and hygiene standards. Its production workshop follows GMP and EHEDG sanitary design principles and incorporates automated intelligent control systems throughout the production process.
The plant also brings together a range of advanced dairy-processing technologies, including membrane separation, chromatography, crystallisation control and whey and lactose demineralisation. The combination of these technologies is intended to improve process control, product consistency and biosafety while enabling higher-value utilisation of fresh milk.
At full production capacity, the facility is expected to process approximately 300,000 tonnes of fresh milk annually. Its planned product portfolio includes 21 tonnes per year of lactoferrin, 13,500 t/a of demineralised whey powder, 8,400 t/a of casein powder, 12,000 t/a of lactose, 30,000 t/a of cream and 6,000 t/a of infant formula.
The project is expected to generate annual revenue of more than RMB3 billion (approximately $441.84 million) once operating at full capacity. It is also projected to create more than 300 direct jobs, adding to the economic contribution of the facility in the region.
The commissioning of the plant comes as Ningxia seeks to strengthen its dairy-processing capabilities and capture greater value from its local milk supply. By combining large-scale fresh-milk processing with production of specialised dairy ingredients and finished products, the project is positioned to support the region's shift towards higher-value dairy manufacturing.
For Feihe Dairy, the Ningxia facility represents a strategic expansion of its processing network and deepens its capabilities across dairy ingredients and premium products. The integration of automated processing and advanced separation technologies is expected to give the company greater flexibility in converting fresh milk into a broader range of higher-value outputs.
The successful trial production of powdered milk represents a key milestone for the project and is expected to support the subsequent ramp-up of the facility. As operations move towards full-scale production, the plant could play a larger role in strengthening Ningxia's dairy value chain, improving the utilisation of fresh milk and supporting employment and regional economic development.
