Almost 500 suppliers attend Yili’s annual supplier conference on Feb 26. [Photo/northnews.cn]

Yili Industrial Group Co, China's largest dairy producer, held its annual supplier conference in Hohhot, capital of North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Feb 26.

Yili earned revenues of nearly 46.17 billion yuan ($6.72 billion) during the first three quarters of 2016, with net profits of 4.41 billion yuan.

As Asia’s top dairy businesses, the company’s growth also benefits many of its suppliers. Some have developed into market leaders during their cooperation with Yili. 

At the conference, Yili proposed two requirements for almost 500 suppliers from home and abroad: insistence on high quality and assistance with innovation. 

The company hopes the suppliers can put quality at the center of their operations, as it is the foundation for stable partnerships. It also expressed its eagerness for suppliers’ support in product and management innovation.

During the meeting, Yili signed several strategic cooperation agreements with suppliers, such as Tetra Pak, Du Pont and Cargill for further collaboration in new product development, marketing, resource sharing and staff training.