Inside the smart oasis in the desert: UnseenChina founder Akenarong Suksupakit was invited to Mengniu's modern milk production base, building a new bridge for farming and livestock exchange between the two countries
During the 2026 World Dairy Congress (2026年世界奶业大会), Akenarong Suksupakit, founder of UnseenChina, a firm that has spent years connecting Thai and Chinese businesses, was invited to visit Mengniu Dairy, one of China's top dairy companies. The trip covered Mengniu's modern plant and ecological farm deep in the desert. After seeing it firsthand, he said China's dairy industry now leads the world in ecological restoration, artificial intelligence and big data.
UnseenChina is confident about bringing Thai farming and livestock companies to China for future study visits, because these "China models" are exactly the kind of current, on-the-ground experience their Thai counterparts need to see.
Turning desert into grassland: lessons for Thailand's tropical livestock sector
Mengniu has grown wide stretches of grass across hundreds of thousands of mu of desert, and built an oasis there that covers the whole chain: organic pasture, dairy herds and a milk processing plant. The grass is grown organically the whole way through and has a clean, natural smell to it. For Thai farming, which sits in the tropics and runs short of forage in the dry season, this approach of rebuilding an ecosystem in a harsh environment while running high yield livestock is worth studying closely. Some large Thai agribusinesses already use silage, but the sheer industrial scale of Mengniu's forage silage system is still a strong reference point.
Akenarong Suksupakit, founder of UnseenChina, said: "What Mengniu is doing with its desert farms could well become a benchmark stop for Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Thai dairy companies when they come to China."
AI dairy farming x tropical smart farms: the course you have to take if you want to upgrade a dairy business
In Mengniu's smart desert barns, every cow wears a device such as a smart collar or an electronic ear tag that connects to the farm's AI system in real time, tracking health, mood and feeding around the clock. If anything looks wrong with a cow, the system raises a warning before the symptoms are obvious and alerts a vet automatically, which cuts the risk of disease spreading. It is a very advanced digital way of raising cattle that puts AI, big data and image processing together in one system.
Producing to match sales: the brain that keeps costs down and output up
Mengniu uses big data analysis to predict daily demand accurately, then tells its plants how much to make. Nothing goes to waste past its date, and what reaches the shelf stays fresh.
A fully automatic, unstaffed plant: Mengniu's version of smart manufacturing in China
Mengniu's smart factory runs fully automatic milking robots. A cow walks into position and the machine identifies her and does the milking on its own. Most of the plant runs without people, and it is both clean and quick. The factory also has end to end traceability, so any cup of milk can be traced back to the exact farm, batch and herd, which means there is a clear record behind the quality.
The visit gave UnseenChina a full view of how Mengniu applies digital technology and green practices across its entire supply chain, and it made the company more certain about its role as a business bridge between Thailand and China.
Akenarong Suksupakit, founder of UnseenChina, said:
"China's dairy industry is already ahead of the rest of the world in ecological farms, AI livestock management, big data for production and sales, and food safety traceability. We want to help more Thai companies come and see Chinese firms for themselves, talk to them and work with them. Drawing on our local teams and our government and business contacts built up over years in both countries, UnseenChina offers Thai agricultural agencies and leading companies support at every stage: planning the itinerary, setting up meetings with officials and companies, business interpreting, and follow up once things are underway. Any Thai colleagues who are interested are welcome to get in touch and come with us to Mengniu and to the farms of the future in China's dairy industry."
