China is the world's number one sheep breeding country, and mutton consumption is also the world's first. In 2020, China produced 319.410 million sheep and produced 4.9231 million tons of mutton, continuing to maintain stable growth.
There are nearly two hundred kinds of sheep in China, which are mainly divided into two categories: sheep and goats. According to statistics, in 2020, the number of goats in China reached 133.4525 million, and the number of sheep in the pen reached 173.0953 million.
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According to the National Inventory of Breeds of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources (2021 Edition), sheep breeds in China are divided into local breeds, cultivated breeds and introduced varieties, with a total of 89 varieties.
Among them, there are 44 local breeds, including small-tailed han sheep, Mongolian sheep, Kazakh sheep, Tibetan sheep, Altay sheep, lake sheep, beach sheep and other well-known breeds.
There are 32 breeds cultivated, including Xinjiang fine wool sheep, Northeast fine wool sheep, Inner Mongolia fine wool sheep, Chinese Merino sheep, Gansu alpine fine wool sheep and other well-known breeds.
13 varieties were introduced, including Well-known breeds such as Dubo sheep, Australian Merino sheep, East Phoriko sheep, and Suffolk sheep.
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According to the National Inventory of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Varieties (2021 Edition), China's goat breeds are divided into local breeds, cultivated varieties and introduced varieties, with a total of 78.
Among them, there are 60 local varieties, including Tibetan goat, Xinjiang goat, Inner Mongolian cashmere goat, Jining green goat, matou goat and other well-known varieties.
There are 12 breeds cultivated, including Guanzhong dairy goat, Laoshan dairy goat, Wenden dairy goat, Nanjiang yellow sheep and other well-known breeds.
6 varieties were introduced, including well-known breeds such as Sanen dairy goat, Boer goat, Nubian goat, And Angolan goat.
In summary, there are many breeds of sheep in China, and only 167 varieties have entered the "National Inventory of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Varieties (2021 Edition)".