July 1, 2020

China's Shanghai beef imports soar in Jan-May

In the first five months of this year, Shanghai imported a total of 394,000 tonnes of beef via Shanghai Customs, up 51.8% from the same period last year, customs data showed, Xinhua reported.

The value of these goods was RMB15.55 billion (US$2.2 billion), up 72.9% on-year. The average price of imported beef was RMB39.4 per kg during the period, up 13.9% on-year.

Brazil, Argentina and Australia were the top three sources of beef imports in Shanghai. In the first five months, Shanghai Customs saw 136,000 tonnes of beef imported from Brazil, more than doubled from the same period last year and accounting for 34.5% of the total beef imports in Shanghai in the same period.

Beef imports from Argentina and Australia also rose 52.1% and 28.5% on-year, respectively, in volume. The increase in beef imports in Shanghai shows that beef consumption in the Chinese market remains robust despite the novel coronavirus epidemic.