South China meat imports up 80 percent in 2016

South China has become a major pork and poultry importer in the global market, reported the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service.

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image from fabioberti.it | bigstockphoto.com
image from fabioberti.it | bigstockphoto.com

South China has become a major pork and poultry importer in the global market, reported the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service. In 2016, pork, poultry and other meat imports increased by 80 percent over the previous year, reaching a value of US$2.6 million, according to Chinese customs data reported by USDA.

South China now accounts for one-third of pork product imports into China, according to that customs information. South China ports accept more than half of all China’s poultry product imports.

South China imports of U.S. pork, beef and poultry

The United States accounts for a large volume of South China’s growing hunger for pork and poultry, reported USDA. U.S. pork exports to the region grew nearly 400 percent from approximately US$150 million in 2015 to nearly US$770 million in 2016.

For poultry, South Chinese ports accept 52 percent of all poultry products shipped to China from around the world.

Considering pork, beef, poultry and other meats together, South China brought in 57 percent of all U.S. meat exports to China. In 2003, US beef imports to China were banned, but now that the restriction has been lifted beef has enjoyed strong demand in China.

History of Chinese meat imports

Chinese customs data shows that meat imports to South China in 2015 stood at below US$1.5 billion, up from less than half a billion a decade before. Between 2008 and 2015, southern Chinese meat imports wavered between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion. USDA analysts believe high domestic meat prices and consumer demand for high-quality meat drove the 2016 boom in imports.

Sources of pork exports to China

Overall, U.S. pork exports to China increasing more than 70 percent year-over-year in 2016, ranking China’s pork market as the third largest for U.S. pork exports in 2016, according to USDA's February “Livestock, Dairy and Poulty Outlook.”

However, European pork accounted for a disproportionate share of Chinese imports of pork. The exchange rate may have made US pork less competitive than Europe, despite the continent’s generally higher production costs.

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