Last week, egg and mutton prices both declined due to the post-holiday off-peak consumption season.

This article is reprinted from Jinan Times

As preparations for the Spring Festival are completed and supply and demand become more balanced, pork prices in Shandong have come under pressure and are declining. The latest statistics released by the Shandong Animal Husbandry Bureau show that last week, the average selling price of eggs in the province was 7.02 yuan/kg, down 3.84% year-on-year and 11.92% month-on-month. Consumption of beef and mutton has shifted from strong to weak, with transaction volumes slightly declining before the holiday, and prices fluctuating downward. According to monitoring, last week, the transaction volume of beef in our province increased by 5.31% year-on-year but decreased by 1.66% month-on-month; the beef market transaction volume increased by 4.74% year-on-year but decreased by 1.63% month-on-month.

Last week, the price of egg chicks continued to rise slightly. The current price is 3.09 yuan per chick, down 18.25% year-on-year but up 3.00% month-on-month. Based on optimistic expectations for the egg-laying hen market in the second half of the year, the enthusiasm for restocking has increased, leading to a slight rise in egg chick prices.

With increased supply and weakened demand, egg prices declined last week. On the production side, temperatures continued to warm, egg-laying rates of hens increased, and as reserve hens gradually entered production, supply pressure slightly increased. On the demand side, after the Spring Festival, trade mainly focused on digesting inventory, with limited consumer support. Monitoring shows that last week, the transaction volume of eggs in 17 monitored counties in the province increased by 3.75% year-on-year but decreased by 7.40% month-on-month. Looking ahead, demand support may weaken again, and since production capacity of laying hens remains relatively loose, market supply pressure will increase, further suppressing egg prices. It is expected that egg prices may continue to fluctuate downward.

Last week, the average price of beef in the province slightly declined to 67.18 yuan/kg, up 21.92% year-on-year but down 0.75% month-on-month. The average price of mutton weakened to 77.04 yuan/kg, up 6.94% year-on-year and down 0.73% month-on-month. Currently, the prices of beef and mutton have peaked and are falling mainly due to the seasonal decline in demand after the Spring Festival, with supply and demand adjusting phase-wise.

Looking ahead, in the short term, the demand for beef and mutton is unlikely to reverse its seasonal decline, and prices will continue to be under pressure, mainly fluctuating weakly. However, due to ongoing capacity reduction in cattle and sheep production and rising international beef prices, the price fluctuations of beef and mutton may narrow. In the long term, the market space for beef and mutton consumption is huge and still promising. Coupled with the orderly implementation of national consumption stimulation policies, beef and mutton consumption may accelerate cyclically, and prices are expected to develop positively.

Regarding pork prices, last week, pork prices slightly declined, with an average weekly price of 23.03 yuan/kg, down 16.16% year-on-year and 3.24% month-on-month.

(Jinan Times · Xin Yellow River Client Reporter Su Ran)