China’s record pork imports are likely to fall after domestic prices also fell. The news is a potential hope for easing the pressure on the world meat market, writes Bloomberg.
China is the largest importer of protein in the world, but may reduce its imports by more than 50% for the period July-December compared to the first half amid declining domestic prices, experts say.
Futures on the international pork benchmark rose by more than 25% on the Chicago Board of Trade in 2021 amid strong demand and more expensive feed. However, pork prices in China have plummeted by more than 50% due to increased production, imports and the recovery of African swine fever herds.
The decline in China’s meat imports may be good news for consumers in other parts of the world. More expensive meat, cereals and others have increased global food spending to its highest level since 2011.
China’s pork production jumped 36% in the first half of the year to about 27 million tonnes, while the number of pigs in herds rose by almost 30% to 439 million at the end of June on an annual basis.
In 2020, China imported a record amount of 4.4 million tons of pork. Spain, Brazil and the United States were the main suppliers.
In 2020, Beijing released 670,000 tons of state reserves of pork, which is roughly equivalent to 15% of the amount of pork imported this year.
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