An intriguing little detail in all this frothy commerce is that many people in China, like much of Asia, are lactose intolerant. Human children produce an enzyme that allows them to digest milk, but in much of the world, its levels taper off as they grow up.
In 2015, the dairy intake of residents aged 18–59 in 15 provinces was 20.67 ml per day [9]. In 2019, China's per capita dairy purchase quantity reached 93.33 ml per day [10].
Up to 90 percent of South Asians may be lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance, which is due to the inability to digest milk sugars, is a common disorder caused by a deficiency of the lactase enzyme in the digestive system. Lactose intolerance is three times more common in South Asians than in other populations.
In 2021, Chinese population consumed on average 14.4 kilograms of milk and dairy products per person. Even though per capita dairy consumption in China increased slightly since 2016, it remains relatively low compared to other countries worldwide.
Dairy products in medieval China included milk (rǔ 乳), yogurt (lào 酪), and butter (sū 酥/蘇), but also an item called tíhú 醍醐, which originally referred to a fermented milk beverage consumed by the nomadic peoples beyond the northwestern frontier during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), but later was used to refer to ...
Mongolians drank tea with milk. Chinese did not. The simple fact is that China was never traditionally a country where cows grazed in vast numbers. Milk was available in England in the countryside and it was common to drink Chinese black tea with milk even before Indian tea arrived in the 1840s.
Now, scientists have found some of the oldest evidence yet for dairy drinking: People in modern Kenya and Sudan were ingesting milk products beginning at least 6000 years ago. That's before humans evolved the "milk gene," suggesting we were drinking the liquid before we had the genetic tools to properly digest it.
India ranks first in milk production in the world contributing 24% of global milk production.
The country with the highest per capita consumption of fluid milk in 2022 was Belarus. The average person in Belarus consumed about 114.9 kilograms of milk in that year. Ukraine came in second with approximately 113.27 kilograms of fluid milk per person.
Worldwide, about 65% of people experience some form of lactose intolerance as they age past infancy, but there are significant differences between populations and regions. As few as 5% of northern Europeans are lactose intolerant, while as many as 90% of adults in parts of Asia are lactose intolerant.
Lactase nonpersistence is also very common in people of West African, Arab, Jewish, Greek, and Italian descent. The prevalence of lactose intolerance is lowest in populations with a long history of dependence on unfermented milk products as an important food source.
The only fresh milk available in China is called Yonsei Milk and is produced at Yonsei University in South Korea.
Cow's milk was first imported into coastal and central China by the Western merchants who trickled into the country after the First Opium War in the mid-19th century.
“China is the world's third-largest milk producer, but last year's 34 million tonnes of output only met about 70% of domestic needs. Complicating matters are feed costs at multi-year highs, while land and water are also in short supply, making the country a costly place to produce milk.”
China, despite a growing interest in milk, is again near the very bottom, just above North Korea and Indonesia, where people basically don't drink milk. One last interesting tidbit is how milk consumption varies by age in a way soda and fruit juice consumption does not.
Top Figures and Facts in the Global Dairy Industry
India is the world's largest milk producer, with 22% of global production, followed by the United States of America, Pakistan, Brazil and China.
By volume, liquid milk is the most consumed dairy product throughout the developing world.
Frozen yogurt has been popular ever since. Here are some other fun facts: Which countries consume the most yogurt? France, followed by Turkey.
The International Dairy Federation estimates that France holds the title for the most cheese consumed in a year per capita, but Italy boasts a close second.
New Zealand had the highest per capita consumption of butter worldwide in 2022. That year, the average Canadian consumed 3.9 kilograms of butter per capita. New Zealand came in the first place at 6.17 kilograms of butter per capita in that year.
Not at any price, never, as in I wouldn't give up my car, not for all the tea in China. This term originated in Australia and alludes to the presumed huge quantity of tea in China. [Late 1800s] Also see for all the world; not for love or money.
Originally, tea was valued for its medicinal qualities. It has long been known that tea aids in digestion, which is why many Chinese prefer to consume it after their meal.
Research suggests adding milk reduces its beneficial impact. That's because milk contains proteins and fats that reduce the effectiveness of antioxidants, which can improve heart and gut health. Antioxidants can also slow the ageing process. So if it's health benefits you want from tea, drink it black.”