April 11, 2006

China's chicken import triples on-year
 

China's chicken imports have been rising since the beginning of the year despite bird flu. The value of chicken imports more than doubled to 143 percent on-year during the first two months of 2006, reaching US$69 million.

However, tonnage was tripled over the same period, with customs data indicating that 36,000 tonnes of chicken were imported during the first two months of the year, the majority of them coming from the US and Brazil.

In a reversal of the usual scenario where China allegedly dumps its cheap products to other countries, it seems that chicken exporters are turning the tables on China by exporting cheap chickens to it. Overseas chickens are popular in China partly because its prices are lower than domestic ones.

Exporting countries are having difficulties exporting their chickens to other countries due to bird flu, so they lowered prices to export to China, said Shen Guang, Vice Secretary General, China Animal Agriculture Association.

He added that the difference in consumer habits between countries also contributed to reduced prices. In western countries, customers prefer chicken breasts, but in China, customers like chicken wings, legs and claws. Thus overseas dealers are able to sell these chicken products at lower prices to China.

Shen expects this year's import volume to double to US$1.1 billion. Chicken is expected to become the fourth largest imported agricultural product in China.