HOHHOT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) on Saturday awarded Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the title of "World Dairy Capital."

The city was crowned "Dairy Capital of China" in 2005 and "World Capital of Dairy Science and Technology" in 2023.

Addressing the 2026 World Dairy Industry Conference in Hohhot, Pavinee Chinachoti, IUFoST president-elect, said that through the synergy of premier research hubs and industry leaders, the city has achieved a series of breakthroughs, such as the high-efficiency processing of hydrolyzed whey protein and eco-friendly extraction methods for beta-casein.

Driven by the commitment to science, Hohhot's dairy sector continues to break new ground. Both the yield of its large-scale farms and the quality of its raw milk now rank among the best in the world.

Furthermore, Hohhot is the only city in the world that is home to two of the global top 10 dairy producers. The total operation revenue of its dairy industry chain topped 300 billion yuan (about 44.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025.

He Haidong, mayor of Hohhot, proposed the Hohhot initiatives on sustainable development of the global dairy industry, seeking to make the industry greener, smarter, more inclusive, more open and safer.

Laurence Rycken, director general of the International Dairy Federation, said at the conference that while shifting from rapid expansion to a new phase of high-quality development, the global dairy industry is confronted with challenges such as climate change, resource strains and supply chain disruptions.

But the industry is also ushering in a period of new opportunities from technological innovation, digitalization and industrial integration, Rycken said.

China, one of the world's most important dairy markets, has achieved leapfrog progress in technological innovation, product quality, industrial upgrading and sustainable development in recent years, Rycken added. ■