A responsible official of the Ministry of Agriculture discusses the beef and mutton production situation in our country
Increased beef and mutton consumption is an irresistible trend; the tight supply situation will not fundamentally change in the short term, and prices will not fluctuate greatly.
Online report Recently, beef and mutton prices in Inner Mongolia and other pastoral provinces have shown a phenomenon of falling rather than rising during the peak season. In some areas, the prices of live cattle and live sheep have declined to varying degrees, and in a few places there have even been difficulties in selling sheep. In response to this situation, a reporter recently interviewed Wang Zongli, Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Q: In recent years, beef and mutton have become favored by more and more consumers. What is the overall supply and demand situation for beef and mutton in our country?
A: Our country is a major producer and consumer of cattle and sheep. Mutton output ranks first in the world, and beef output ranks third, after Brazil and the United States. In recent years, cattle and sheep production in our country has continued to grow steadily. In 2013, 48.282 million cattle and 280 million sheep were slaughtered nationwide, increases of 26.8% and 34.7% respectively compared with 2000, with average annual growth of 1.8% and 2.3%; beef and mutton output were 6.732 million tons and 4.081 million tons respectively, increases of 31.2% and 54.5%, with average annual growth of 2.1% and 3.4%. In recent years, beef and mutton have consistently accounted for about 13% of the meat consumption structure. In 2013, beef and mutton accounted for 7.9% and 4.8% of total meat output respectively.
Relative to production growth, consumption has grown even faster. In 2013, urban and rural households nationwide purchased 3.961 million tons of beef and mutton. Compared with 2.404 million tons in 2000, average annual consumption growth was 3.9%. If outdoor dining consumption by urban and rural residents is included, total consumption is even larger and the growth rate even faster. Insufficient supply relative to demand drove continuous price increases. Starting in 2001, beef and mutton prices rose for 13 consecutive years. Among these, from 2007 to 2013 the upward momentum was relatively strong. The price of beef rose from 18.54 yuan per kg to 58.81 yuan, an average annual increase of 17.9%; the price of mutton rose from 18.63 yuan to 61.88 yuan, an average annual increase of 18.7%.
Overall, beef and mutton supply is in a tight balance. Developing production and increasing supply is the primary task for the development of the cattle and sheep industry at present and for some time to come.
Q: What is the current production and sales situation for beef and mutton in our country?
A: This year's cattle and sheep production situation is generally positive, with sheep developing relatively faster. According to fixed-point monitoring by the Ministry of Agriculture, in September this year, beef cattle inventories in 300 cattle-raising villages fell 1.6% year on year, but increased 0.6% from the beginning of the year; inventories of breeding cows increased 1.2% month on month, rising month on month for 2 consecutive months and up 1.0% year on year, reversing the continuous decline since 2009. In 500 sheep-raising villages, mutton sheep inventories increased 2.4% year on year, and breeding ewe inventories increased 3.1% over the average level of the past 3 years. The development of mutton sheep was clearly faster than that of beef cattle.
Since the beginning of this year, beef and mutton prices have not continued the upward trend of previous years, and the year-on-year price increases have narrowed significantly. In the first three quarters, the average prices of beef and mutton rose only 7.5% and 6% year on year. According to monitoring by the Ministry of Agriculture of 480 farmers' markets, in the fourth week of October, the national average prices of beef and mutton were 63.6 yuan and 64.85 yuan per kg, up 4.3% and 1.6% year on year respectively, but down 1.27 yuan and 3.15 yuan respectively from the highest prices at the beginning of the year. This has not happened in recent years. This situation arose partly because production increased and partly because of the impact of weak consumption. According to monitoring of 17 large wholesale markets including Xinfadi, in the first 10 months beef trading volume fell 11.7% year on year, and mutton trading volume fell 19.2%.
Q: Recently, prices of live cattle and live sheep in Inner Mongolia and other places have declined, and in some areas there has been the problem of “difficulty selling sheep.” What are the main reasons for the price decline?
A: Recently, cattle and sheep prices in pastoral provinces have declined to varying degrees. According to monitoring, in the fourth week of October, the mutton price in pastoral areas such as Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang was 57.34 yuan per kg, down 6% year on year; the mutton price in agricultural areas was 65.68 yuan per kg, up 2.2% year on year. Among these, mutton prices in pastoral provinces had fallen month on month for 10 consecutive weeks and had been lower than the same period last year for 7 consecutive weeks, which is uncommon during the peak consumption season in previous years.
The decline in mutton prices in pastoral areas is the result of multiple overlapping factors. First, in recent years mutton sheep returns were good, large-scale farming developed faster, and the market supply of mutton increased. But affected by the slowdown in macroeconomic growth, starting last winter, mutton market consumption declined somewhat. Second, after the spring outbreak of peste des petits ruminants, all localities suspended cross-provincial and intra-provincial transport of live sheep and closed live sheep trading markets. After live sheep transport was reopened, cattle and sheep previously held back were concentrated on the market, and some farmers even engaged in panic selling. Third, since the beginning of this year precipitation in the entire Inner Mongolia region has fallen 18% year on year, grassland output has been severely reduced, herders' stored grass is relatively low, and to reduce the pressure of storing forage for the winter, farmers and herders chose to speed up market sales, causing concentrated marketing of mutton sheep. Fourth, increased imports have also had a certain impact on the domestic beef and mutton market.
Q: What measures will the Ministry of Agriculture take in the future to promote the development of beef and mutton production?
A: Although the upward momentum in beef and mutton prices has slowed somewhat this year, and mutton and live sheep prices in some areas have declined temporarily, as industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization accelerate, residents' living standards continue to improve, and dietary structure adjusts faster, increased beef and mutton consumption is a major trend. The tight supply situation will not fundamentally change in the short term, and prices will not fluctuate greatly.
Next, the Ministry of Agriculture will closely focus on the goals of increasing production and ensuring supply, earnestly implement the national beef and mutton production development plan, adhere to the principle of relying on domestic production to achieve basic self-sufficiency, fully leverage the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, increase policy support and guidance, highlight advantageous production areas, accelerate the transformation of production methods, improve and perfect the improved breed breeding system, strengthen the development and utilization of forage resources, enhance financial and insurance support, continuously improve the comprehensive production capacity of beef and mutton, and effectively ensure effective market supply.
Focus on doing five tasks well:
First, strengthen policy support and guidance. Around key links such as breed breeding and improvement, standardized large-scale farming, and forage development and utilization, gradually improve the policy framework system supporting the development of the beef and mutton industry, continuously increase support, and provide strong policy guarantees for enhancing the comprehensive production capacity of beef and mutton.
Second, accelerate the promotion of industrial transformation and upgrading. Adhere to combining agriculture and animal husbandry and adapting measures to local conditions, and vigorously develop moderately large-scale farming of beef cattle and mutton sheep. Continue to organize standardized demonstration creation activities to drive overall standardization improvement through point-to-area expansion. Support the development of new business entities such as large-scale farms, family ranches, and specialized cooperatives, and improve the level of facility-based, organized, and intensive beef and mutton production.
Third, strengthen improved breed breeding and promotion. Adhere to combining policy support and scientific and technological promotion, and promote the expansion and increase of basic female livestock through multiple channels. With the implementation of genetic improvement plans as the starting point, steadily advance breeding work such as performance testing, improve independent breeding capacity, and cultivate a number of new beef cattle and mutton sheep varieties. Strengthen the construction of cattle and sheep breeding farms and bull stud stations, organize and implement improved breed subsidy policies well, accelerate the genetic improvement of local breeds, and promote quality improvement and efficiency enhancement in cattle and sheep production.
Fourth, focus on increasing forage supply. Actively develop cattle and sheep forage planting, carry out artificial grass planting according to local conditions, and enhance the guarantee of high-quality forage supply. Strengthen the construction of silage and haylage feed facilities, and improve the utilization efficiency of crop straw. Strengthen forage reserve and disaster prevention and mitigation supporting facilities in pastoral areas, and alleviate the problem of insufficient forage supply during winter snow disasters.
Fifth, establish and improve the financial and insurance support system. Make full use of market mechanisms, attract broad entry of social capital, establish diversified investment and financing mechanisms, and stimulate the internal vitality of market operating entities in the cattle and sheep industry. Carry out pilot loan guarantees and interest subsidies for beef and mutton production, and actively explore effective models for financial support of the cattle and sheep industry. Actively promote the establishment of a beef cattle and mutton sheep insurance system, and improve the ability of cattle and sheep production to resist risks.