The losses in beef and dairy cattle farming have been alleviated, though more efforts are required to fully resolve the production and operational challenges, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA) said on Monday.

In 2024, China's supply of livestock products, including meat, eggs and dairy, was abundant, though the livestock industry faced challenges, including significant losses in beef and dairy cattle farming, said Chen Bangxun, director general of the Department of Development and Planning of the MOA, at a press conference.

"In response, the MOA has taken timely and effective measures to help farmers overcome difficulties. The production of pigs, which accounts for a large portion of the livestock industry, has recovered significantly," Chen said, noting that "while losses in beef and dairy cattle farming have only been partially mitigated."

The alleviation came from the adaptive adjustment of production capacity and the implementation of various relief policies. As a result, the decline in beef and dairy prices has narrowed, alongside lower feed and forage costs, Chen said.

"However, further efforts are needed to reverse production and operation difficulties," Chen stressed.

To promote the sustainable and healthy development of beef and dairy cattle, MOA will work with relevant departments and major producing provinces to strengthen monitoring and early warning, extend relief policies for the beef and dairy cattle industry, enhance technical guidance services, stabilize production capacity while improving the industry's resilience, said Chen.

"At the same time, we are strengthening technical guidance and encouraging farms to focus on internal management and improve quality."

In late December, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced the launch of a safeguard investigation into imported beef, starting from December 27, 2024, following requests from 10 domestic associations representing the beef industry.

"China's livestock industry calls on authorities to take control measures on imported beef to protect domestic farmers' livelihoods and industrial safety, as the excessive import of beef has caused substantial damage to the domestic industry," the China Animal Agriculture Association, which is one of the applicants for the safeguard investigation, said in a statement following MOFCOM's announcement.

The MOFCOM said that it on November 22 received the application for investigations of safeguard measures into imported beef for the beef industry of China submitted by domestic associations.

The applicants stated that the sharp increase of imports of beef products under application for investigation had caused an impact on China's domestic industry and that there is a causal relationship between the increase in imports and the serious injury to China's domestic industry, said MOFCOM.

The China Animal Agriculture Association reported that starting from June 2023, the monthly import of beef has surpassed 200,000 tons for 18 straight months, significantly affecting the domestic cattle sector.

On December 19, the Global Times learned from an industry source that the production and operation of China's beef industry have been facing serious difficulties.

In November, the national average price of beef was 60.04 yuan ($8.21) per kilogram, a 14.79 percent year-on-year drop and the lowest level since September 2019, according to the source.

Source: Global Times

Date：2025-1-20