BEIJING, June 21 (Reuters) - China on Friday published new regulations to stabilise the production of beef cattle as the industry faces declining prices and heavy losses.
"Since the beginning of this year, the prices of live cattle and beef have continued to fall," the agriculture ministry said in a notice.
"Farms have suffered losses and increased production pressure," it said.
The ministry said it will guide farms to adjust the breeding scale reasonably, eliminate old and low-yielding cattle as appropriate, optimise herd structure, and improve production efficiency.
Main beef cattle producing areas should actively seek support from financial institutions, it said.
The ministry also called for measures to increase the supply of forage and reduce costs.
Localities should raise grass planting in cultivated land and as well other terrains like beach, abandoned land and saline-alkali land, it said.
To strengthen disease prevention, the ministry said it would support large-scale farms to increase biosafety measures and build disease-free communities. (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
