Beef prices fall instead of rising, and raising one cow yields less than 1,000 yuan in profit

Since the beginning of this year, pork prices have kept rising. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, many consumers have begun turning their attention to beef and mutton as substitutes for pork. But beef and mutton prices seem not to have risen because of this, and many farmers' profits remain very low. What exactly is going on?

Pork rose, but beef fell

This year's pork prices have remained high, making many consumers feel they can barely afford it. According to data from the price monitoring center of the municipal price bureau, in mid-August the average purchase price of live pigs exceeded 9 yuan per jin, up 1.83% from the previous monitoring day, up 0.94% from the same period last month, and up 2.69% from the same period last year. The average price of pork also exceeded 15 yuan.

In theory, when pork prices are high, consumers will choose beef and mutton as substitutes, and beef and mutton prices should also rise somewhat. But the facts are not like this. According to a survey by the municipal animal husbandry bureau, in July the average price of beef cattle in the city was about 11 yuan per jin, down 1% from the same period last month, and cattle farms and households made less than 1,000 yuan in profit for each beef cow sold. In other words, beef prices did not rise like pork prices. The main reason beef prices cannot rise is the impact of low-priced imported beef from abroad.

It is understood that there are fewer and fewer small-scale cattle farmers in Yantai, mainly because raising cattle earns less than working as a wage laborer, so cattle farmers lack enthusiasm. In the past, cattle, as an important tool for plowing fields, once flourished, but with the development of mechanized planting operations, cattle lost their farming function, and making a living by raising cattle alone is probably hard to sustain. The profit from one cow for a farmer is less than 1,000 yuan, which is clearly not worthwhile for small-scale households that do not raise many cattle.

There are not many large-scale beef slaughtering and processing enterprises

Although there are fewer and fewer small-scale cattle farmers, Yantai's beef cattle breeding industry has not truly become as standardized as the pork industry. Recently, a reporter visited a food company that integrates beef cattle breeding and slaughtering to learn about the current situation of the beef cattle breeding industry.

The person in charge of Yuanhua Breeding Farm told the reporter that at their farm, an ordinary beef cow needs at least a year and a half to two years of growth from calf to slaughter. On average, the feed cost is about 18 yuan per day. Even calculating by a 700-day growth period, feed costs alone require 12,600 yuan. This does not yet include costs for labor, water and electricity, equipment, and factory buildings. But at the current market purchase price, the beef cattle breeding industry cannot make much money. So large-scale farms like theirs can still hold on, because as citizens recognize their branded beef, this situation may change.

From what has been learned, fewer and fewer people in Yantai are raising cattle at present, and this situation will continue. With the market not yet well developed and some low-quality beef disrupting market prices at low prices, the cattle breeding industry is destined to make little money, so naturally no one is willing to do this line of work.

(Lu Qifei)