Prospects and problems of mutton sheep breeding

The total number of sheep in the country has grown rapidly in recent years

According to data disclosed by the China Bureau of Statistics, since 2019, the number of sheep in my country has continued to increase. In 2021, the number of sheep in China will be The inventory exceeds 310 million, an increase of 4% year-on-year in 2020. Thanks to the improvement of the production level of my country's sheep breeding industry, the improvement of production methods, the restoration and protection of the breeding ecological environment, and the continuous improvement of prevention and control measures for various diseases, the number of sheep in my country has increased in recent years.

The sheep population is large and showing a growth trend

China has a long history of sheep raising, and its number and breed diversity ranks among the top in the world. According to the 2021 National Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Breed List, there are 89 sheep breeds and 78 goat breeds in my country. Judging from the proportion of sheep stocks of different breeds, in 2021, the national sheep stock will exceed 180 million, accounting for nearly 60%, while the goat stock will account for a relatively small proportion.

From the perspective of the change trend in the size of the sheep population of different breeds, from 2011 to 2021, the sheep population has shown an overall growth trend, especially since 2019. The growth has been obvious; while the overall change in the goat population has fluctuated. Small and slightly down.

The advantageous areas of the sheep breeding industry are concentrated in Inner Mongolia and other places

At present, sheep breeding in my country is still dominated by small-scale scattered farmers as family units. Domestic sheep are mainly distributed in areas belonging to In arid, semi-arid and semi-humid areas of temperate, warm temperate and cold temperate zones, goats are mostly distributed in arid and barren mountainous areas, desert areas and some high-temperature and high-humidity areas, such as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Qinghai and other places. According to the requirements of the "Outline of the Plan for the Construction of Advantageous Areas of Characteristic Agricultural Products", the government actively creates advantageous areas for agricultural products with Chinese characteristics, encourages local governments to expand and strengthen advantageous characteristic industries, strives to create advantageous areas for characteristic agricultural products, and develops local specialties and small varieties to drive farmers to increase their incomes. big industry.

In recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has successively issued the "Notice on Identification of Advantageous Areas for Agricultural Products with Chinese Characteristics". By the end of 2022, four batches have been released, including 10 in the sheep breeding industry. advantageous areas, mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and other places. The specific list is as follows:

The level of domestic sheep breeding industry will be further improved

With the continuous improvement of the income level of domestic urban and rural residents and With the improvement of their living standards, their concept of meat consumption has gradually changed, and the domestic per capita consumption of mutton continues to grow. However, the current domestic per capita consumption of mutton is still at a low level compared with developed regions. The development of the domestic mutton industry contains huge potential and the potential consumer market in the future will be huge. This will also promote the further improvement of the development level of the upstream sheep breeding industry. It is expected that in the future, my country The scale of sheep breeding and the level of industrial development will be significantly improved. For more detailed research and analysis on this industry, please refer to the "China Wool Industry Production and Sales Demand and Market Forecast Analysis Report" by the Forward-looking Industry Research Institute.