The dairy industry is desperate for a government bailout after being hit hard by last year's contaminated-milk scandal and competition from overseas, industry experts have said.

Wang Dingmian, a director of the Dairy Association of China, told China Daily the amount of overstocked milk powder across the country has reached at least 250,000 tons - compared to "near zero" before the melamine-tainted-milk scandal last September.

Shaanxi and Hebei provinces, as well as Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions are listed as the most severely hit.