July 30, 2024
China's pork imports from Russia surge in June amid EU anti-dumping probe
China imported 1,346 tonnes of pork products from Russia in June, a significant increase from May's figure, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC), Global Times reported.
According to GAC data, China imported 870.27 tonnes of frozen pork and 475.83 tonnes of frozen pork offal in June. In contrast, the nation imported 269.56 tonnes of Russian frozen pork and 80.76 tonnes of frozen pork offal in May.
In terms of value, the June imports of Russian frozen pork and frozen pork offal amounted to CNY 27.34 million (US$3.76 million), nearly quadrupling the CNY 6.79 (US$936,000) million registered in May.
After a hiatus of 15 years, China lifted a ban on imports of Russian pork and by-products due to African swine fever in September 2023, with the first shipment arriving in China in April, according to Sputniknews.cn.
Russian pork exports to China could reach 15,000 tonnes in 2024, potentially increasing to 100,000 tonnes, according to Sergey Dankvert, head of the Russian agriculture regulator, as reported by the Russian news portal.
This increase in pork products from Russia comes as China conducts an anti-dumping probe into pork from the EU. On July 18, China's Ministry of Commerce announced that investigating authorities will use a sampling method in the anti-dumping probe into EU pork, detailing the sampling plan and preliminary results for the case involving pork and swine by-products from Europe.
The anti-dumping probe was initiated at the request of the China Animal Agriculture Association on June 6, representing the Chinese pork and swine by-products industry.
Chinese analysts indicated that the rapid increase in Russian pork imports is beneficial as the country seeks to diversify its import sources amid efforts to enhance food security.
"China's pork market, where imports supplement the cyclic fluctuations of domestic demands, is driven by market forces and importers play a vital role in diversifying China's import sources," said Li Guoxiang, a researcher from the Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to the Global Times on Sunday.
"As China continues to open its agriculture market and shares its growth dividends with trading partners on a mutually beneficial, reciprocal basis, the Russian pork industry faces an opportunity. The vast China market is big enough even for the 100,000-ton-level exports mentioned by the Russian official, provided that these exports possess a competitive price footing," Li added.
High-level political ties also mean that Russian and Chinese authorities are in a better position to address non-market issues associated with the processing of imported goods if they occur, Li noted.
China currently has 21 import source countries, with Russia and Belgium becoming the latest exporters in 2024, according to media reports.
In 2023, China imported roughly US$3.5 billion worth of pork products, with about half coming from the EU. Spain exported US$865.3 million worth of pork to China, accounting for about 25% of China's total pork imports in 2023, GAC data showed.
- Global Times
