April 11, 2007

 

China's live pig and frozen pork exports down, canned pork exports up

 

 

China saw significant decreases in live pig and frozen pork exports in 2006 while canned exports rose.

 

Live pig exports for 2006 was 1.72 million head, below the 1.76 million head achieved in 2005.

 

Exports for the first two months of the year reached 240,000 heads valued at US$33.5 million, down 8. 7 percent and 0.8 percent respectively year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs:

 

Pig exports fell 10.4 percent in 2005 after rising 4.7 percent in 2004.

 

January 2006 was a 40-percent increase compared to the same month in 2005 while January 2007 was a 19.4 percent decline compared to January 2006.

 

Starting from May, Most of the months in 2006 saw a decline not exceeding 5 percent compared to the same months in 2005.

 

Frozen pork exports fared slightly better. With volumes rising from 250,000 tonnes to 270,000 tonnes. However, value fell from US$406.1 million to US$400.8 million.

 

China exported 10,000 tonnes of frozen pork valued at US$26 million US dollars in February 2007. The export for the first two months reached 30,000 tonnes valued at US$45.2 million, down 12.5 percent and up 2.2 percent respectively year on year.

 

Frozen pork exports fell 14 percent in 2005 after rising 36.4 percent in 2004.

 

For 2006, exports saw a decline for the first half of the year when compared to previous months but saw an increase for the second half of the year.

 

January 2007 also saw a 38-percent decrease in frozen pork exports compared to the same month last year while February 2007 saw a 12.5-percent decrease.

 

Good news was seen in China's canned pork sector, which saw a 16.3-percent increase in January and a 23.3-percent increase in February, compared to the same months in 2006. 

 

China exported 4,048 tonnes of canned pork valued at US$7.3 million in February 2007, according to the General Administration of Customs.

 

Canned pork exports fell 3.8 percent in 2005 after rising 3.6 percent in 2004.

 

Pork exports for 2006 totaled 57,500 tonnes, compared to 52,000 tonnes in 2005. Exports saw an increase month-on-month for all months of the year.