Publication: Meat Sector Policy Note: Reducing Price Instability in the Mongolian Meat Market
Date
2010-04
ISSN
Published
2010-04
Author(s)
Goodland, Andrew
Abstract
Meat plays an important role in the
diets of the majority of Mongolians. Since the economic and
political transition in the early 1990s, seasonal meat price
fluctuations have become increasingly marked. In parallel,
Mongolia is becoming increasingly urbanized, and urban
consumers are dependent upon markets to access food,
including meat, for household food security. These two
trends have meant that a rising number of urban residents
are vulnerable to fluctuations of price in one of their main
staples. Government has responded to this by trying to
influence the price of meat through a price stabilization
policy under which public funds support the purchase and
storage of meat and the release of these reserves during
periods of peak prices. While some public intervention to
smooth prices is a legitimate area for policy engagement,
this policy note concludes that there is no evidence that
the current policy has an impact on prices, and worse still,
it may even discourage private meat storage. This is set in
a context of relatively low budget allocation (by
international standards) to the agricultural sector. What is
required is a more comprehensive approach for developing the
meat market and the livestock sector more broadly, and with
regard to price stabilization, the consideration of a number
of alternative policy responses that limits government
expenditure and encourage market-based solutions.
Citation
“Goodland, Andrew. 2010. Meat Sector Policy Note: Reducing Price Instability in the Mongolian Meat Market. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/25751dd3-3e80-5764-a8cd-7221c211817b License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”