Export Trade Of Livestock Products And Its Effects On Economy In Modern China (1840-1936)

With the development of industry in western societies, western powers began to invade China for raw materials with the help of warships and cannons. As an important raw material, livestock products also became the object of foreign invaders. As a result, export trade of livestock products in modern China began.Taking export trade of livestock products in modern China as research object, this paper adopts both historical and western economic approach to study the changes in production, sale and export trade of livestock products in modern China, with emphasis on peltry and egg products. Based on data, this paper also discusses the characteristics of export trade of livestock products in different phases and its causes as well.Economic situation and international demand have a noticeable impact on export trade of livestock products. During the World War One, export trade of peltry and egg products, which are badly needed by the War, surged, while export trade of wool, a textile material, is slack. After the World War One, the demand for peltry decreased dramatically while the demand for wool and egg products increased dramatically. Export trade volume of all livestock products decreased during the economic crisis in the 1930s. Even though, the volume of all livestock products accounted for more and more percentage of the total volume of foreign trade. The volume of export trade of livestock products accounted for less than 10% of the total volume of foreign trade before 1910, but more than 20% in 1934. By then export trade of livestock products became the most important part of foreign trade and had a positive effect on the economy in then China.Export trade of livestock products affected modern Chinese economy in many aspects. First, it called for improvement of livestock varieties. Besides of Lamb Wool, most of Chinese wool was originally of poor quality. The new varieties of sheep can produce wool of high quality. Second, it helped to increase the GDP and develop regional economy. It also led to the application and extension of new techniques.Meanwhile, there were also a lot of problems in the export trade of livestock products in modern China. Most of Chinese livestock products were raw material and unprocessed. They were of poor quality; the techniques for processing livestock products were outdated. The livestock products industry was not organized and vicious competition were a common...