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Marketing and Distribution—Prior
to 1980, the distribution of beef was tightly controlled
by the government. Culled draught cattle were often
slaughtered by nearby butchers for local consumption.
The government brought some live cattle from pastoral
areas to be slaughtered at government slaughterhouses
in large cities. Some of that beef was distributed through
the hotel and restaurant industry but much was reserved
for urban Muslim populations. Most of the meat purchased
by individual consumers was rationed. Han residents
were generally given pork ration coupons, and beef ration
coupons were issued to Muslims (Longworth 2001:240).
Ninety percent of the cattle slaughtered in China are
butchered by specialized household slaughterers. Some
of these household slaughterers are concentrated in
specialized slaughtering villages (often Muslim) located
near large urban areas. Because the highest demand in
China is for low-cost, low-quality beef, the household
slaughterers are able to compete well against the larger,
government-certified slaughterhouses (Longworth 2001:190-192).
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Chilis for sale in streetside
wet market, China
photo by L. Mittenthal (U.Minnesota LCTL Project,
Virtual Photo Album) |
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Butcher shop, China
photo
by L. Mittenthal (U.Minnesota LCTL Project, Virtual
Photo Album) |
Most beef sold in China today is marketed within a
few hours of slaughter, at local “wet markets.”
These are markets where agricultural products, including
meat, are sold with little or no packaging or processing.
Chickens, for example, are often slaughtered to order
on the premises. The sellers usually operate from individual
carts or tables in an open-air area or in a minimally
finished building. Household shoppers tend to purchase
beef at the “wet markets,” including various
types of permanently established market centers and
“morning markets,” street markets with mobile
carts open only a few hours each morning. More affluent
shoppers often purchase beef at government shops or
supermarkets. A few shop at one of the large-scale central
wholesale markets established by the Chinese government
in some major cities in the late 1990s. Most beef sold
in China is not inspected or graded. As of 2001, a few
larger meat-packing companies were using in-house grading
systems. A grading system proposed to the Ministry of
Agriculture would include four grades: Prime, 1st grade,
2nd grade, and other, based on marbling and tenderness
(Longworth 2001:259).
Premium beef in China is generally distributed to hotel
and restaurant customers, either directly or through
wholesalers, or sold through supermarkets, including
those that cater to foreign residents, or government
shops. Most imported beef is also distributed through
these channels.
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