IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘China – Pork (Meat Of Swine) – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

China’s pork imports remained high in 2021, totaling $8B from January to August. Rising supplies from Spain and Brazil offset the decline in purchases from the U.S. Compared to the figures of 2020, Spain’s pork exports to China grew by 70% to 900K tonnes, while Brazil ramped up shipments by 25% to 360K tonnes. In 2022, the volume of China’s pork imports is forecast to decrease by 5% due to boosting domestic supply.

From January to August 2021, China imported 2.8M tonnes of pork worth $8B. Compared to the same period a year earlier, the volume of imports remained nearly unchanged, while in value terms, purchases grew by 3%.

Pork supplies from the U.S. dropped by 36% to 340K tonnes, while Spain and Brazil sharply boosted their exports to China. Against the same period of 2020, purchases from Spain increased by 70% to 900K tonnes or by 76% to $2.6B in value terms. Supplies from Brazil rose by 25% to 360K tonnes or by 21% to $1.2B in monetary terms.

In 2022, China’s pork imports are projected to drop by 5% to rising domestic pork production. The Chinese government is expected to support large pig farming companies to keep expanding their herds.

China’s Pork Imports in 2020

Pork imports into China soared from 2.0M tonnes in 2019 to 4.3M tonnes in 2020. In value terms, purchases skyrocketed from $4.5B to $11.9B (IndexBox estimates).

Spain (934K tonnes), the U.S. (696K tonnes), and Brazil (481K tonnes) were the leading suppliers of pork to China, with a combined 49% share of total imports.

In value terms, the largest pork suppliers to China were Spain ($2.7B), the U.S. ($1.6B) and Brazil ($1.6B), with a combined 49% share of total supplies.

In 2020, the U.S. recorded the highest shipment growth rate among the leading suppliers. Pork imports from America rose threefold in value terms.

The average pork import price amounted to $2,761 per tonne in 2020, jumping by 22% against the previous year. Average prices varied somewhat amongst the major supplying countries. In 2020, the highest prices were recorded for prices from Brazil ($3,254 per tonne) and Denmark ($3,009 per tonne), while the prices for the U.S. ($2,351 per tonne) and Canada ($2,369 per tonne) were amongst the lowest.

Source: IndexBox Platform