June 27, 2008
Hong Kong beef imports up 126 percent
Hong Kong imported 11,052 tonnes swt of beef last April, down from the record volume of 11,067 tonnes swt in March but 126 percent more than April 2007, Meat & Livestock Australia reported.
The year-on-year growth was driven by the 244 percent increase in Brazilian beef imports, which reached a new record of 7,199 tonnes swt.
Shipments from Australia and New Zealand went up 70 percent and 192 percent year-on-year, respectively, to 324 tonnes swt and 635 tonnes swt.
Beef from the US reached 854 tonnes, up 20 percent compared with last year, while volumes from Argentina, Uruguay and China also showed strong growth.
The exception was imports from Canada which fell 30% on April 2007, to 553 tonnes swt.
Over the calendar year to April, Hong Kong imported a record high 36,268 tonnes swt of beef, a jump of 86 percent from last year, with a surge in South American volume contributing largely to the growth.