March 24, 2020

China's pork imports rise 158% between January to February 2020

China's customs data showed pork imports hit 560,000 tonnes, a 158% increase as the country purchased additional pork in anticipation for the Lunar New Year celebrations, reported Reuters.

The surge in imports have come even after port activities were disrupted due to imposed COVID-19 outbreak movement restrictions in the country.

According to official data, output for pork dropped 21% in 2019 to its lowest in the past 16 years. Swine was priced at 37 RMB (~US$5.22; 1 RMB = US$0.14), six times more compared to the US.

The pork import surge follows the record high 270,000 tonnes imported in December last year.

The imported meat is expected to be channeled towards the country's state reserves, as China has been releasing its frozen pork supplies from the reserves on a weekly basis in a bid to control rising prices of pork domestically.

China has already released 370,000 tonnes of frozen pork from state reserves since December 2019.

Rabobank analysts said China's pork output is projected to drop by up to 20% in 2020, even after the government introduced several plans to recover swine production.

Recently, China's government urged swine producers to begin production overseas to boost swine numbers.

China's General Administration of Customs said the country's total pork imports last year hit 2.11 million tonnes, a 75% increase compared to 2018.

-      Reuters