Study On The Consumption Of Animal Products In Shandong Province

The consumption of animal products which is the basic consumption of residents occupies a vital place in food consumption. The proportion of which animal product consumption accounts for food consumption reflects the level of living standards. Therefore, the study on residents’ animal product consumption and its changing tendency has a very important practical significance. Shandong Province is the dominant area of animal production and consumption. However, there is no specific study on the animal product consumption in Shandong province. Based on this background, the author conducts the empirical study through field investigation, data analysis and econometric analysis to estimate the level of animal product consumption of urban and rural residents in Shandong province and to analyze the changes in consumers’ preferences and behavior and consumption trends, hoping to provide relatively reliable basis and instructions for the scientific development of animal husbandry and the improvement of residents’living standards and quality in Shandong province.In terms of consumption of animal products, the analysis of sample data shows that per capita annual consumption of pork is19.28kg, poultry meatl1.86kg, eggs15.73kg, beef and mutton7.01kg, milkl2.8kg and fishery product4.40kg, which is a relatively high level of consumption. However, there are significant rural-urban and regional disparities:On urban-rural contrast, the animal product consumption of urban residents is significantly higher than that of rural residents, with the largest fresh milk and aquatic products, followed by the egg and pork, and poultry, beef and mutton the minimum. For regional comparison, there is a decreasing trend for most of the consumption of animal products from East to West, with which the largest gap is fishery products, followed by dairy products, minimum gap for beef and mutton.In terms of animal product consumption structure:The consumption of pork and other traditional animal products covers a large proportion in people’s daily animal product consumption in Shandong province. People mainly purchase fresh and raw animal products, which is closely related to their eating habits and preferences. The percentage of cooked pork and poultry meat consumption of rural residents is higher than that of urban residents, while there is a relatively higher proportion of urban residents’consumption of cooked beef and mutton. Consumption proportion of the cooked pork products in the West is higher than that in the East, and consumption proportion of the cooked poultry, beef and mutton is higher in the East and West than that in the middle areas. The consumption characteristic of the processed products is similar with that of the cooked.Residents in Shandong Province mainly purchase animal products in supermarkets, farmers’ markets, convenience stores and retail outlets. Food safety and freshness is their most concern. From rural to urban, from West to East, more and more residents are buying animal products in the supermarket at their leisure time and they pay more and more attention to the food safety, freshness and variety level.Econometric analysis also shows that the largest demand of animal products in Shandong is pork and poultry meat, which has become obvious with the changes from the urban area to the rural area, and from the East to the West. What’s more, with the urban-rural and regional changes, there is a decreasing trend for the basic need of most animal products. The marginal consumption propensities of aquatic products of eastern and urban residents are the largest, which is the same as that of the pork products marginal propensities of mid-west and rural residents. The animal products income elasticity are positive, which means that as incomes increase, there is also room for further growth in consumption of animal products. The income elasticity of beef, mutton, milk and aquatic products in urban and eastern areas is much higher, which is higher than1. The income elasticity of beef and mutton in rural and western areas reaches a high level. Animal price elasticity is negative and its absolute value is less than1, reflecting a relatively mild degree of response to price. The price elasticity of mutton, beef, pork and aquatic products in urban areas is much higher, the same with the pork price elasticity in rural areas. For regional comparison, the price elasticity of aquatic products, milk, beef and mutton in eastern areas is much higher, while the price elasticity of milk, beef and pork in western areas is much higher. Price elasticity of animal products in the mid area is not very prominent except that of pork.According to the consumption characteristics of animal products of residents in Shandong province, the government can increase the consumption demand of animal products by improving residents’ income and animal products’ quality, enhancing propaganda of scientific knowledge of nutrition information, broadening sales channels, guiding scientific consumption, further processing animal products and researching and developing the new foods.