Since the beginning of this year, the increase of national beef and mutton prices has narrowed significantly compared with the same period last year.

The reporter learned from the Ministry of Agriculture on the 3rd that since the beginning of this year, the national price of beef and mutton has not continued the rising trend of previous years, and the price increase has narrowed significantly compared with the same period last year. Among them, the average price of beef and mutton rose only 7.5% and 6% in the first three quarters compared with the same period last year.

On the other hand, the price of beef and mutton in Inner Mongolia and other pastoral provinces has declined instead of rising in the peak season, and the prices of live cattle and sheep have declined to varying degrees in some areas, and it is even difficult to sell sheep in some places.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's monitoring 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 kilogram, up 4.3 percent and 1.6 percent respectively from the same period last year, and down 1.27 yuan and 3.15 yuan respectively from the peak at the beginning of the year, which is rare in recent years.

Among them, in the fourth week of October, the price of mutton in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and other pastoral areas was 57.34 yuan per kilogram, down 6 percent from the same period last year. The price of mutton in pastoral provinces has declined for 10 consecutive weeks, falling below the level of the same period last year for seven consecutive weeks, which is not common in previous peak consumption seasons.

"increased production and weak consumer demand are important factors contributing to the weakening of prices." Wang Zongli, deputy director of the Animal Husbandry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, analyzed and believed that.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's monitoring of 17 large wholesale markets, including Xinfadi, beef trading volume in the first 10 months fell 11.7 percent compared with the same period last year, and mutton trading volume dropped 19.2 percent.

Wang Zongli believes that although the rising momentum of beef and mutton prices has slowed down since the beginning of this year, and the prices of mutton and live sheep in some areas have declined periodically, with the accelerated process of industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, the living standards of residents have continued to improve, the dietary structure has been accelerated, and beef and mutton consumption has increased. The pattern of tight supply will not be fundamentally changed in a short period of time, and prices will not fluctuate greatly.