December 11, 2007

China's Gansu sees increased domestic beef and mutton sales

Domestic demand for pasture-fed beef cattle and sheep from China's western Gansu province had been rising in recent years.

For 2007, Gansu's is forecast to produce 318,000 tonnes of beef and mutton. Of these, deliveries to other provinces and regions will likely amount to 130,000 tonnes, or 41 percent of the province's total production.

According to traders, beef from the districts of Pingliang, Qingyang and Tianshui are mostly delivered to the provinces of Shaanxi, Henan, Sichuan and Hubei.

Besides supplying the provincial capital, Lanzhou, beef from Linxia district is also delivered to Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as well as the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong.

Traders in Guangdong, Hubei, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Shanghai have also been active in procuring mutton products from Gansu province.

With increasing affluence, demand for beef and mutton products are expected to rise in China. Gansu's production of these red meats is set to climb in the near future.