After 9 months of anticipation, the first batch of Mongolian mutton is finally on the table of the people of Hubei.

　　After strict nucleic acid testing, the first batch of processed 12,000 Mongolian donated sheep was loaded on the morning of November 12, and then set off from Erlianhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to Wuhan, Hubei Province.

　　After the live sheep from Mongolia entered China in Erenhot in October, they were slaughtered and processed locally.

Along with 30,000 goats, Erlianhot, the peaceful border city of China and Mongolia in the past, has also been searched online.

　　As for how the sturdy Mongolian sheep entered the country, there are many stories and unconfirmed videos circulating on the Internet. For example, under the blue sky and white clouds, the sheep was driven through the endless grassland and crossed the border into China.

　　"It's all the time, it's not like this." In an interview with a reporter from China Business News, Jia Xiaoguang, deputy director of the Erenhot City Bureau of Commerce, who has been engaged in animal husbandry and port work for a long time, said that especially during the epidemic, it is necessary to cross the national border. Strict measures are imposed on goods or people.

　　He said that Mongolia’s donation of sheep to China is not so unrestrained. They are loaded into the country uniformly by cars, and there is a complete set of supervision procedures and health and epidemic prevention measures throughout the process.

In addition, these sheep were quarantined in the immunization-free area of ​​Mongolia before entry.

　　Mongolian sheep

　　In February this year, at a special moment in China's fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Mongolian President Battulga visited China and was the first foreign head of state to visit China after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

He also specifically announced that Mongolia will donate 30,000 sheep to China and hand over the donation certificate with Mongolian characteristics to China.

　　Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Chai Wenrui revealed to CCTV News in August that Mongolian friends believe that sheep are gentle and the first choice for gifting, which also implies sincerity and enthusiasm.

In addition, the Speaker of the Mongolian Parliament once said to him that lamb is the best tonic, and he hopes that the Chinese people can increase their resistance and immunity, and overcome the epidemic as soon as possible.

　　Since then, almost the people of the whole country hope that the people of Hubei can eat Mongolian mutton as soon as possible.

However, more than half a year has passed, and the sheep from Mongolia still haven't arrived.

　　Did Mongolia postpone its donation because of China's success in fighting the epidemic?

　　After the new crown pneumonia epidemic entered a "global pandemic", Mongolia's economy also encountered a great test.

According to statistics, the GDP growth rate of Mongolia in the first half of 2020 is -9.74%.

　　However, Mongolia's determination to donate did not retreat.

Jia Xiaoguang told CBN reporters that Mongolia hopes to raise sheep until they are fat and strong through stocking in summer and autumn, and then they will be sent to China in the best condition.

　　Sure enough, in the autumn harvest season, Mongolian sheep arrived as scheduled.

According to Xinhua News Agency, at about 11:30 on October 22, a truck departed from Zamyn-Ude Port in Mongolia, carrying the first batch of 4000 sheep, and then drove into Erlianhot Port in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

The sheep on the truck were fat and strong, with bulging noses and drooping ears, some of them were all white in color, and some had brown and black heads, all of them strong and sturdy, and they were wearing yellow ear tags.

　　Since then, 14 batches of Mongolian sheep have entered the country separately. Until November 13, the last batch of 1,800 sheep entered the animal isolation field under the supervision of Erenhot Customs in Inner Mongolia. All the 30,000 sheep donated by Mongolia to China entered the country.

　　Regarding the source of the sheep, after the President of Mongolia announced that he would donate 30,000 sheep to China, the Mongolian media fully reported it, which inspired the people of Mongolia to support China's fight against the epidemic.

The people of Mongolia have donated sheep one after another. In less than a month, they pledged to donate 30,000 sheep.

　　However, Jia Xiaoguang told the CBN reporter that although Mongolian people from all walks of life actively donated at the beginning, the Mongolian government took into account the quality and standards of the sheep, and finally the Mongolian government purchased them from herdsmen.

He said that this fully proves an ancient Mongolian proverb: "It is not necessarily the rich who can give you meat in the famine year, but it must be Anda!" Anda means to make righteous brothers in Mongolian.

　　Subsequently, the Mongolian government successively transported the 30,000 sheep it had purchased to the isolation area in Zamyn-Uud County, East Gobi Province for isolation.

According to relevant anti-epidemic regulations, these live sheep were quarantined for 30 to 45 days and then transported to the Chinese port city of Erlianhot in batches via the Zamyn-Ude Highway Port, where necessary quarantine and slaughter were carried out.

　　Mongolian meat products have advantages

　　If all 30,000 heads of sheep have entered the country, how does Mongolian mutton taste?

　　In fact, the advantages of Mongolian mutton and other meat products are very significant.

Jia Xiaoguang told the CBN reporter that the quality and style of meat products in Mongolia is different from Australia, Argentina and other countries. Mongolia’s livestock meat products are traditional products of natural grazing, which are pure natural, green, pollution-free and no additives. Compared with modern collective farming, the advantages are obvious.

　　The second is the price advantage.

He said that taking the local beef price in Mongolia as an example, it basically hovered between 7000-8000 tugrik (Mongolian currency unit)/kg in the past few years. It only started to rise sharply in 2019, and the average price in 2020 exceeded 11000 tugrik. /Kg (approximately 24.5 yuan).

This price has formed a significant price difference with the domestic beef selling price, "and the currency exchange rate of Mongolia continues to fall, the future price advantage will still be very obvious." He said.

　　However, Jia Xiaoguang also said that Mongolian meat has not yet fully entered the Chinese market, mainly because of the livestock foot-and-mouth disease in individual areas of Mongolia in recent years.

The World Organisation for Animal Health has not granted Mongolia the status of a foot-and-mouth disease-free country.

　　After the meat is cooked, the fear of foot-and-mouth disease can be eliminated. In November 2015, China signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Food Safety Cooperation between China and Mongolia on the Import and Export of Cooked Beef and Mutton Food" to import cooked meat from Mongolia. The channel is opened.

　　A local resident in Erlianhot told China Business News that the price of imported mutton still has advantages. The price of a pound of cooked Mongolian mutton is equivalent to the price of a pound of local raw mutton.

He also said that most Mongolian sheep have been raised for several years, while Chinese sheep are basically slaughtered when they are raised until they reach adulthood. Therefore, it feels that Mongolian mutton tastes more like mutton.

　　In 2019, my country's meat imports were 4.841 million tons.

"And Mongolia has a large stock of livestock, and China is undoubtedly a potential big market for Mongolia's meat exports." Jia Xiaoguang said.

　　While the 30,000 Mongolian sheep have received attention, the attention of Mongolian sheep's entry port-Erlianhot has also been raised.

It is not accidental that Mongolian sheep entered China from Erenhot. Erenhot is my country’s largest port to Mongolia and an important node city on the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor of the “Belt and Road”. It is the frontier and window for the country to open to the north.

　　As early as 2010, the Erlianhot Highway Port was qualified as a designated port for imported meat.

Since then, the number of meat imports has increased year by year, from an annual import of 1,000 tons to more than 50,000 tons at present, including 30,000 tons of horse meat and 20,000 tons of cattle and sheep.

　　Jia Xiaoguang told a reporter from China Business News that although Erlianhot is a small border town in a sense, its characteristics are also very obvious. It plays a very important role in the trade between China and Mongolia. It accounts for more than 30% of the total freight between China and Mongolia.

　　Just like the import of 30,000 sheep, despite the continuous spread of the global epidemic, the exchanges between China and Mongolia have not been closed.

Under strict prevention and control measures, trade remains active.

On the Chinese side, fresh vegetables and fruits are shipped here, and they will soon be served on the table of Mongolians, enriching their diet.

A train of China-Europe express trains full of various commodities travels between ports, continuously promoting economic and trade exchanges between China and countries along the “Belt and Road”.

　　According to news from the Ministry of Commerce of China on October 26, Mongolia has recently completed the accession process of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement and plans to implement tariff reduction arrangements with relevant members on January 1, 2021. This means that China and Mongolia will mutually Imported goods will enjoy lower tariffs, and enterprises and people will receive greater benefits.

　　Author: Money in Little Rock