Marketing of our goats – it may not be as easy as the Jabatan Veterinar or the Kursus Kambing people make it out to be
The basis of the mushrooming number of goat farms seem to be the concerted efforts by the Jabatan Veterinar to create self sufficiency of goat meat and related products in Malaysia. To support this, a table of the gross shortage is often shown and quoted repeatedly.
The summary as it relates to goats is shown here:
2007 2008
(estimates) (forecasts)
Mutton (Goat)
Production (`000 mt) 1.75 1.92
Demand (`000 mt) 20.00 20.98
Local Market Value (RM million) 45.58 50.01
Total Population (million) 27.17 27.73
% Self Sufficiency Level 8.75 9.15
Per Capita Consumption ( Kg ) 0.74 0.76
This is an unbelievable situation. Such a vast disparity between supply and demand. One wonders if this is the case, why has the market forces somehow not bridged this gap. Simple, we are told. Imports have bridged the gap and that it is this large import that the aspiring goat entrepreneurs should substitute with local production.
The former Minister of Agriculture has been quoted as saying that Malaysia needs 10 million, yes, 10 million goats a year.
This is well and good, in fact great. Until we start our goat farms and the hard facts sink in.
The end market for goats is ultimately meat for food. Maybe some people want them as pets. Others may want them to be used for breeding, but then the bred goats eventually do end up on the dinner table.
Fresh goat meat is sold by butchers at the wet markets for RM28 per kg or so. If I am not mistaken, this is a Government controlled price.
So we have to work out what would be the net weight of the meat that our goats would yield and at this rate of RM28 per kg, what would then be the gross price that we would be able to sell our goats.
And please don’t forget the profit margin of the butcher!
And then see how this compares with the price of frozen mutton that is available in the clean airconditioned Jaya Juscos and Giants
For Korban and Aqiqah.
This is a religious issue. Our religion requires goats to meet the conditions required, or as it is said, “cukup syarat”. I have written about the requirements for goats as far as Korban and Aqiqah are concerned.
Ibadah Korban is done during a particular time of the year, whilst Ibadah Aqiqah is done throughout the year. Here live goats are needed, so we have an advantage over frozen meat.
Since Islam is the religion followed by Malaysia’s majority, then this is a great market. Still two things need to be considered.
Role of Suraus and Mosques in Ibadah Korban
Suraus and Mosques play a increasingly large role in Ibadah Korban. People who continuously look for easier ways to get things done, prefer to just pay a certain amount to the Mosque /Surau Committee who then arrange for the goats or cows as the case may be to be brought to the Mosques / Suraus for the religious slaughter.
The goat farmer has then to contend with this Committee being a middleman and its attendant commissions and discounts.
Aqiqah, on the other hand is a religious obligation done by the parent of a child, to show gratitude for the birth of the child. Hence this is distributed throughout the year and throughout the country. Distance of the goat farm is an issue.
Some parents just give their’s and the child’s names to the Ustad arranged for by the farm and the slaughter is done at the farm. The more conservative, like some Indian Muslims prefer that they place their hands on the animal as it is slaughtered.
Either way, distance between parent and the farm is a deciding factor.
I am not an expert on goat farming or goat marketing. Based on what little experience I have gathered over the last few months, it seems to me that Aqiqah and Korban is the best market that we should aim for. Especially for the small farmer with less than 100 goats in his herd.
Price
Everyone wants high quality at the lowest possible price. Whilst some goat breeders advertise goats with “certificates” and the related high prices, the rest of us have to struggle at the lower price levels.
Coming back to the table of demand and supply:
Demand for 2007 - 20 metric tonnes = 20,000,000 kgs
Local Market Value - RM45.58 m = RM 45,580,000
Or RM 2.28 per kg
Ouch!!! Is this the true market price (average though it may be) of lamb / mutton consumption per kg in Malaysia? Is this the “huge market” touted by the Ministry of Agriculture?
Then, one must wonder what the advisors to the former Minister of Agriculture must have been smoking when they advised him that Malaysia may need 10 m goats!!! Presumably to be sold at RM28 per kg nett!!!
Or was it what the newspaper journalists must have been smoking!!!!
Reconciling Jabatan Veterinar statistics with real life
Since the consumption statistics must have been gathered from the importation figures, they must be pretty accurate (The Customs guys know how to keep track of what comes into the country.). So Malaysians must be eating a fair amount of goat meat. If this were to be the case, there should be a fairly long queue outside our farm gates daily. Sadly this is not the case.
So we should ask the question “Is the consumption mutton, or is it the meat of sheep? Sheep that the Australians and the New Zealanders produce by the busloads. The price / kg also seems to indicate that it cannot be local mutton.”
This concern is shared by others in the industry. See this comment by The Kebun, another goat blog that I follow avidly.
My appeal to the Jabatan Veterinar
The Jabatan Veterinar and AGRO Bank are pulling out all stops to promote goat rearing. Using the figures shown in the table above to support their campaigns.
|
Table 1. Nutrient Composition of Goat and Other Types of Meat1, 2 |
|||||
|
Nutrient |
Goat |
Chicken |
Beef |
Pork |
Lamb |
|
Calories |
122 |
162 |
179 |
180 |
175 |
|
Fat (g) |
2.6 |
6.3 |
7.9 |
8.2 |
8.1 |
|
Saturated Fat (g) |
0.79 |
1.7 |
3.0 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
|
Protein (g) |
23 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
24 |
|
Cholesterol (mg) |
63.8 |
76.0 |
73.1 |
73.1 |
78.2 |
|
[1] Per 3 oz. of cooked meat |
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you are right.I had expressed the issues to min. of agriculture. It is cheaper to buy australian,nz meat. We are still probably at the breeding stage for the next ten years. tq.
One of the problem in Malaysia is our “istilah”.Goat is “kambing” and sheep is “kambing biri2″.It should be just “biri2″ (for sheep). If you were to look at their no. of chromosomes ,there is a difference of 6 (meaning- they can’t mate).Until we get this right,then people will not understand which one gives “darah tinggi or kolesterol tinggi” (the usual excuse not to eat goat meat).Referring to your table 1,there is no doubt that goat meat is the healthiest!
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no wonder la…rarely one sees goat meat at restaurants and shops etc…..long live the Goat!
The problem of ministry not protect Malaysian farmer. Previous prime minister ask us copy japan stratesy ” dasar pandang ke timur”… but malaysian said my previous minister not intelligent enough… it may they think so…
I just want to remind that Tun Mahathir good enaugh since japan already have cow breed one of the best in the world.. cause they protect their farmer…
Since in malaysia, the ministry always think the farmer is second class citizen, not educated and poor people… they dont border at all… In malaysia farmer born to be poor and suffer… they only appreciated if a world big crisis happen and food never enough… and i feel it will come 1n soon time and all citizen suffer together with farmer… then their baby will cry together with us… and fell hunger always…
The problem of ministry not protect Malaysian farmer. Previous prime minister ask us copy japan stratesy ” dasar pandang ke timur”… but malaysian said my previous minister not intelligent enough… it may they think so…
I just want to remind that Tun Mahathir good enaugh since japan already have cow breed one of the best in the world.. cause they protect their farmer…
Since in malaysia, the ministry always think the farmer is second class citizen, not educated and poor people… they dont border at all… In malaysia farmer born to be poor and suffer… they only appreciated if a world big crisis happen and food never enough… and i feel it will come 1n soon time and all citizen suffer together with farmer… then their baby will cry together with us… and fell hunger always…
the officer feel no regrets even though should be blame soon…
I think your opinion about the fact of goat in Malaysia is mislead people.totally 2 difference animal. Goat is goat. Lamb or Mutton is a Sheep. Lamb is a sheep less than a year old, typically slaughtered between the ages of 4 and 12 months (meat less tougher and easy to consume). Older sheep is called mutton and has a much stronger flavor and tougher meat that many find distasteful. Mutton was a cheap food source for the military, and it was often overcooked and dry. Here in Malaysia, mamak restaurant cook it as a curry but they claim it as a goat meat!! and u get charge at goat meat price! The data u shown about malaysia import of goat is a figure mixed of sheep (lamb,mutton) and goat. I think the actuall goat import for a year is less than 1 million (around 800,000 goat a year) and the rest is a sheep meat. Maybe you should study the data. Thanks!
Its high time the MOA people channel people like us a correct information. People in MOA are leading us to nowhere.
There is a reason why the Chinese taukey did not go for goat rearing. Multiplying your goat stock is very slow, as compare to pig that one time can produce over 10 piglets.
As for myself, I almost go into goat rearing but pull out last minute. The big gap in supply and demand (told by the Vet Dept) at first attract me. But when I think about the problem on how to increase the goat head count, I then change my mind.