Chinese beef in the shadow of mad cow disease

Introduction: from mad cow disease to mad sheep disease, foot-and-mouth disease, the "crisis on the table" sweeping the world has not stopped Recently, mad cow disease has spread to Asia, and neighboring Japan is suffering from a new "table panic" In recent years, European countries have destroyed a lot of beef because of mad cow disease Other countries have also banned European beef in the shortest time However, due to the fact that eating habits are not easy to change, especially in some Muslim countries, beef is an "essential food", and the demand for beef in the international market is still large In China, cattle are mainly raised in pasturing areas and scattered in farming areas They are fed with soybean meal, grass and other plant feed This undoubtedly blocks the food chain of BSE infection, makes them safe to eat, and attracts many foreign suppliers On February 14, 2001, the Ministry of agriculture of China released the report of risk analysis and assessment of BSE in China, pointing out that there is no BSE in China and no virus related to BSE is found While international beef suppliers are looking for sources of beef, Chinese beef business opportunities are emerging However, in the days when mad cow disease swept Europe and the sales of beef and beef products in the world were severely damaged, the huge market vacuum was not filled by the safe beef in China Since 1999, the export of beef and its products in China has declined significantly In 1999, the export volume was 20000 tons, and the trade volume was US $25.718 million, down 55.5% and 64.6% respectively compared with the previous year; in 2000, the export volume was less than 20000 tons, and the trade volume was US $23.534 million, down 10.6% and 8.5% respectively In the first nine months of this year, China exported 16700 tons of frozen beef with an export volume of US $25.439 million But this year's growth, with strong resilience, is based on the low export base of last year But the export of live cattle and beef products in China is very small Relevant experts believe that China's beef exports to the EU have not increased significantly On the one hand, after the outbreak of mad cow disease, Europeans generally have a fear of beef, reducing the consumption of beef More importantly, China's beef quality and food hygiene management system fail to meet international standards, and management measures do not conform to international practices In addition, China's beef quality and food hygiene management system do not meet international standards The quality of beef has not been effectively controlled and improved At the same time, the order of beef export market needs to be further regulated There is no corresponding industry standard Some enterprises do whatever they can to fight for market share, "price war" hurts the interests of the whole industry Some people pointed out that although Chinese beef cattle enterprises are facing business opportunities, they are not prepared for two key issues: first, they are not prepared for the source of cattle; second, they are not prepared for the rules of the game in the export and slaughtering industries Experts suggest that in order to increase the export of beef in China, it is necessary to improve the quality of beef in China and integrate the management with international practices It is suggested that the right of beef export should be liberalized, and the chamber of commerce should coordinate the export price and other situations, focusing on inspection and quarantine As an industry association, the chamber of commerce should strengthen the self-discipline of enterprises, pay attention to the analysis of the international beef market price, and give enterprises a reasonable price proposal Improve the processing accuracy of beef and related products in China, combine the introduction of advanced production technology and modern production line standards, and produce Western-style meat products loved by Europe and America In addition, Chinese beef products enterprises should change their ideas, grasp market opportunities, further improve market competition awareness, and establish a brand image of beef in China.