US beef used to be as low as 10 yuan a catty, but after it was introduced to the Chinese market, why was it not treated well by the Chinese people? What is the difference between the two? What is the reason why people would rather buy 40 yuan a pound of domestically produced beef than take advantage of this "cheapness"?
(All statements in this article are based on reliable sources)
The U.S. cattle industry is like a large, efficient machine that supplies the world with fine beef.
The base of this machine is the vast land of more than 9 million square kilometers in the United States, in stark contrast to the population of only 330 million, this sparsely populated place, leaving a natural breeding blessed land.
Different from the scene of careful breeding in China, the United States focuses on efficiency and speed, from feeding to slaughtering, almost all of which use mechanized equipment, and a family can easily take care of a farm, which not only saves a lot of labor and time costs, but also makes the price advantage of beef obvious.
In the United States, agriculture and animal husbandry are skillfully combined to form a complete industrial chain. The owners of the farms not only raise cattle, but also plant crops outside the factory, which can be used as fodder and sold to the market, killing two birds with one stone, and the problem of cow dung has also been solved and used as fertilizer for crops.
At the same time, the local cattle industry in the United States enjoys generous welfare policies, and the cultivation of corn is subsidized by the government, in this case, farmers will of course prefer to choose cattle raising, coupled with the whole process of mechanized operation, even if the cattle are sick, they can be easily handled, saving a lot of unnecessary trouble.
As a result, the United States has become a big country in raising and selling cattle, and the number of beef produced each year can reach tens of millions, and sometimes even more than 100 million.
The turning point came in 2003, when the American cattle industry broke out with mad cow disease and clenbuterol, which immediately closed China's import gates, and the Chinese people began to worry about eating the wrong meat, which eventually turned into a 14-year "ice period".
During this period, the demand for China's beef market has grown rapidly, the domestic breeding industry has also grown rapidly, and the quality of Chinese beef has also been continuously improved during this period, and the gap with the United States has gradually narrowed.
But this is not the case, and when the pass for the U.S.-China beef market was lifted in 2017, Chinese consumers did not welcome U.S. beef as enthusiastically as expected.
The first reason is, of course, quality problems, as Chinese consumers' trust in American beef has plummeted under the shadow of mad cow disease and clenbuterol, and the once major importers have now become cold-eyed passers-by. Chinese are not easy to deceive, and they have always maintained a high degree of vigilance about food safety.
The imported beef is not cheap, the straight-line distance of tens of thousands of kilometers of transportation, as well as the freight, tariffs and other factors, so that the United States beef does not have much price advantage after arriving in the Chinese market, although the price of beef in China is high, but after taking into account various additional costs, the United States beef does not seem so "good quality and cheap".
Taste is also a concern, most of the U.S. beef is frozen, while China's local beef is basically fresh, most of which are live, to ensure freshness, Chinese consumers prefer the taste of fresh meat, and are not interested in frozen beef.
What's more, the United States allows farmers to use clenbuterol, which makes consumers can't help but have doubts when choosing food, although American beef looks bright and has excellent meat quality, but in the minds of consumers, safety comes first.
The quality of beef is not only reflected in the quality of the meat, but also related to the safety of the food, which is the uncompromising bottom line of Chinese consumers. Against this backdrop, even if U.S. beef re-enters the Chinese market, it will no longer be easy to dominate.
So what was once a low-price temptation and delicious American beef has become a dish with too many doubts in the Chinese market. Chinese consumers would rather pay more for local beef than try the risks behind this once "cheap".
In the future competition, who can win the taste of Chinese consumers, not only needs quality, but also needs trust, American beef to rise again in the Chinese market, I am afraid it will take more efforts to win the stomach of the Chinese.
Information sources: Sohu.com, NetEase News
