* * Mutton market rebounds quickly and predicts that mutton prices will rise during the Spring Festival.

It was originally thought that the price of mutton would not improve this year, but recently, a reporter visited the beef and mutton market and found that since November, local mutton prices have quietly warmed up, and have risen a lot. What on earth is the reason for such a big rise and fall?

In December, Urumqi entered the cold winter early. However, in the Beiyuanchun Market in Urumqi, the reporter saw that the beef and mutton on the market began to be welcomed by consumers, and compared with the desolation two months ago, it ushered in a marked recovery.

Zhang Zhenqiang, market analyst at Beiyuanchun, Urumqi:

Zhang Zhenqiang: mutton prices fluctuated greatly this year. After rising from the beginning of the year to 47 yuan per kilogram in early February, mutton prices began to decline all the way, falling to about 37 yuan per kilogram in August and September. After September, as the weather turned cold and the demand for mutton gradually increased, the price also showed a rising trend, rising slowly from the middle of September to 43 yuan per kilogram at present.

Li Wei, a local mutton seller in Urumqi, told reporters that it is normal for the price of mutton to rise every year in winter due to the weather. But this year, the price of mutton has rebounded seasonally much faster than before, and it has fallen or risen by a large margin.

Li Wei: compared with last year, the lowest price of mutton this year is lower than that of last year, and the others are almost the same. from July to September this year, the lowest price fell below 30 yuan, which is 27 to 28 yuan. Now in December, the best mutton selected by local sheep is about 45 yuan. We observe every year that what is unusually large is that the rebound in prices is particularly obvious. During the period at the junction of autumn and winter, the price can suddenly rise by 5 to 8 yuan from more than 30 yuan.

Why is the price of mutton on a roller coaster this year? All this will start with the sharp drop in mutton prices in September this year.

Li Wei told reporters that from July to September every year, a large number of sheep are sold from mountain grasslands, resulting in an oversupply of goods in the market and a sharp drop in prices. However, this year, the price of ordinary mutton fell below 30 yuan per kilogram, which no one thought. The main reason is that the number of mutton sheep has greatly increased this year.

Li Wei told reporters that according to the custom of previous years, after herdsmen sell a large number of mutton sheep in summer, they will generally leave some mutton sheep for fattening, or wait until next year to continue to sell. However, in the past two years, as mutton will continue to decline, the will of farmers has changed.

Li Wei: because the price of mutton continued to fall last year, many fattening farmers in winter are unwilling to buy sheep for fattening and raise herdsmen engaged in animal husbandry, and they do not want to manage more sheep the next year. Because now that everyone is losing money, they are eager to sell the remaining sheep and hoard fattening farmers, they are also unwilling to buy sheep, resulting in a large number of sheep slaughtered in the market. In fact, grazing has been banned in many places, so the number of sheep in many areas will not increase, but can only be reduced, but now many people have given up the fattening industry, so a large number of sheep are sold from July to September.

In addition, in recent years, the price of mutton mutton in summer cannot rise because of the increase in the import of mutton and the large supply of mutton in the mainland.

However, after November, the price of mutton sheep rebounded quickly and sharply. Compared with previous years, the emergence of this situation also appears to be somewhat abnormal. The reporter learned that this anomaly also has a lot to do with the reduction of fattening sheep. Dealer Li Wei:

Li Wei: in winter, all the sheep in the pastoral area have been sold, and there are no more sheep to sell in the market, so the price of mutton begins to pick up. This is one reason, and another, that is, in winter, a large number of local fattening sheep are on the market, and the prairie sheep are over, followed by fattening sheep. The cost of this product is relatively high, so in the winter sales process, the price is also relatively high. So prices slowly began to pick up, as in recent years, the number of fattening sheep is also relatively small, so in winter, especially in January, during the Spring Festival. The price is the highest during this period.

Now, the price of mutton is basically the same as that of the same period last year, and Zhang Zhenqiang, a market analyst at Beiyuanchun, expects a new round of price increases in mutton prices with the arrival of the late Spring Festival.

Zhang Zhenqiang: because people have the habit of eating mutton in winter, I expect that beef prices will remain stable in the later period. Around the Spring Festival in January, the demand for mutton will further increase because of the cold weather and the festive effect. Mutton prices may also show a slight upward trend.