Mengniu and other domestic companies have already spent large amounts of money to build new milk production centers in order to tackle the crisis. They are also building more production centers in foreign countries, as the origin of milk products is important to Chinese consumers.

Synutra International Inc. spent about 700 million yuan to build an infant formula production plant in France last year. Yili Dairy plans to build a similar plant in New Zealand.

Building plants overseas will help domestic companies lower their costs and rebuild trust, Wang said.