March 5, 2007

China's registers 7.3 percent increase in pork exports for 2006

China's 2006 pork export increased 7.3 percent to 268, 882 tonnes in 2006.

However, despite the increased volume, value fell 1.3 percent on-year to US$400 million as pork per unit prices were down 8.0 percent from 2005.

There are 18 major pork export regions in China. Six provinces accounted for 92.51 percent of China's pork exports: Heilongjiang, Sichuan, Hunan, Henan, Shandong and Guangdong. Heilongjiang is the top export province, with Sichuan second.

The following is a brief analysis for Sichuan's pork export in 2006.

According to customs statistics, Sichuan's pork export was at 690,000 tonnes last year, valued at US$100 million, growing 8.1 percent on-year, compared to the national average of 7.3 percent. Sichuan accounted for a quarter of the nation's exports, with a mean price of US$1,461/tonne, lesser than the US$1,485/tonne national average. The province's pork export prices have fallen 6.4 percent on-year.

Exports to traditional markets were deeply affected due to the pig circovirus diseases for the past two years. Sichuan's pork exports for 2005 declined drastically throughout the year. However, the situation began to improve in 2006 as authorities implemented strict measures at all stages of production. These measures paid off when the markets began to show signs of improvement. Consumers became more confident of the quality of Sichuan pork as efforts to expand the market for the province's pork intensified.  The effort can be seen in an increase in exports to Singapore, where pork export volumes shot up 12 times of that before the pre-ban period.

On the other hand, in traditional markets like Russia, trade barriers had been put in place which severely limited the province's market.