Export of China's dairy products dropped 10.4 percent year on year to 121,000 tonnes in 2008 in the wake of the tainted baby milk powder scandal, said China's Customs on Saturday.

The General Administration of Customs said the decline was due to shrinking demand from overseas after the Sanlu milk powder scandal that broke last September.

"Lots of foreign countries stopped importing dairy products from China, and the country's milk industry suffered severely," said the report.

Sanlu baby milk powder was found to be contaminated with melamine, killing six children nationwide, and sickening 296,000 infants, according to the Ministry of Health.

Dairy products export was valued at US$300 million in 2008 amid a worldwide price rise, representing an increase of 24.5 percent year on year. Average export price was US$2,501 per tonne. up 39 percent year on year.

Export of milk powder in 2008 rose 2.9 percent to 64,000 tonnes, accounting for 52.9 percent of the total dairy products export.

The report also said import of dairy products surged as some customers tended to buy foreign products instead of domestic ones as a result of declining confidence in domestic brands.

The country imported 351,000 tonnes of dairy products at a cost of US$860 million last year, up 17.4 percent and 15.8 percent year on year, respectively.

The report shows, Hong Kong, Venezuela and the East Union were the main export destinations, while most of the imports were from the US, European Union and New Zealand.

(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2009)