Yak is a characteristic breed of livestock in China’s higher elevations, mainly distributed in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and surrounding areas. More than 95% of the world’s yaks are produced in China. Yak meat, milk, bone, hair and other yak products have their unique characteristics or uses. In recent years, China’s yak breeding scale has continued to expand. In 2021, China’s yak slaughter volume reached 3.78 mln head. Regionally, the total number of yaks in Qinghai, Sichuan and Tibet accounted for more than 80% of the national total yak inventory in the country.

The value chain

The whole yak industry chain includes breeding, processing and sales, the upstream of the yak industry chain is feed, vaccine, veterinary drugs and other enterprises, feed enterprises from oil mills or dealers to purchase soybean meal, corn, etc. mixed into feed, for breeding to provide necessary food raw materials. Yak breeding related enterprises are in the middle of the industrial chain. The downstream processing and circulation links are specifically subdivided into primary processing and intensive processing products such as yak beef, milk, fur, etc., and flow into supermarkets, wet markets, catering industries and other distribution places, to finally reach consumer outlets.

Development

Yak breeding is subsidized by the government and belongs to the construction of the national agricultural product quality and safety traceability management information platform and the development of the national agricultural product quality and safety traceability management information system. The State has issued the “Ministry of Agriculture Support for the Green Development of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in Tibet” to assist farmers and herdsmen to increase their income. Yak raising in the unpolluted alpine area has become a symbol of natural green food, known as the crown of beef yak products in domestic and foreign exhibitions many times, including many awards, have won extraordinary evaluation, to yak fluff, fur made of items frequently appear in major fashion weeks, with its warmth and decorative advantages, internationally respected, with the attention of governments at all levels, scientific research workers and the continuous updating of research methods, modern biotechnology will play an increasing role in yak production.

Current state of development

With the popularization of the consumption concept of buying organic and green products, the global market will increase the demand for high-end meat products, yak meat as a high-grade meat product, with obvious high protein content, low fat content, low cholesterol, meat tender and other high-quality characteristics, at the same time, yak milk, yak skin, yak hair and other products are also welcomed by consumers in various countries. In recent years, global yak breeding has continued to expand. In 2021, the global yak stock reached 17.3465 million head, and it is expected to reach 18.9613 million in 2023. From the perspective of regional distribution, the yak is mainly distributed in China, Mongolia, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sikkim, and Bhutan.

Market prospects

Yak as one of the world’s three major alpine animals, yak meat is known as the “crown of beef”, is semi-wild natural green food, yak meat protein content, low cholesterol content, rich in a variety of amino acids, vitamins and calcium, phosphorus, iron and other minerals, with the improvement of people’s living standards and the change of consumption concepts, yak meat market demand is gradually increasing, broad market prospects.

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success