The output of mutton in the world increased slightly last year

Introduction: according to the report of FAO quoted by Uruguayan mutton market magazine, the world mutton output reached 237 million tons in 2001, an increase of 11.5 million tons over 2000, an increase of 1% The report said that there are two main reasons for the slow growth of world mutton production: first, Asian mutton production is lower than originally expected Due to the snow disaster at the beginning of the year, a large number of sheep in northern China were frozen to death In addition, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Iran also suffered from severe weather conditions Second, the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe has reduced mutton production by 9%, with the UK suffering the most serious losses In order to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, Britain has had to slaughter 5 million sheep suspected of being infected with the virus This figure accounts for about 2% of European sheep stocks However, the consumption of mutton in Europe did not decrease due to the decline of mutton production Last year, imports of mutton in Europe increased by 25000 tons over the previous year, bringing the total to 860000 tons Looking forward to the world mutton market this year, the FAO predicts that European mutton production will recover this year, so mutton import will decline to some extent However, the output of Oceania, the world's largest mutton exporter, will be 7.7% lower than last year List of mutton imports from all regions of the world unit: tons (2002 as estimated) Africa 51700 53700 central and North America 134000 141000 in 2001 Asia 239600 243500 Europe 264300 254300 Oceania 61600 62600 others 18200 21300