September 24, 2020

China's pork imports doubled in August compared to 2019

China's General Administration of Customs data showed pork imports into the country doubled at 350,000 tonnes compared to 2019, Reuters reported.

August import numbers are lower than September's 430,000 tonnes as China prohibited meat imports from overseas plants with COVID-19 outbreaks among workers.

China's pork imports are at 2.91 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, a 137% increase compared to the same period last year.

Pork imports are set to decrease next month as China banned German pork imports following African swine fever reported cases there.

China's domestic pork production is set to increase as is swine herd is 31% up in August, as China's efforts to boost domestic pork production is steadily bearing fruit.

China's pork prices PORK-CN-TOT-D eased to CNY 44 (~US$6.45; CNY 1 = US$0.15) per kg last week, after hitting CNY 51 (~US$7.48) in early July. However, the latest prices are double compared to same period in 2019.

Pork imports to China (including offal) reached 450,000 tonnes, with 3.83 million tonnes of pork imports total between January to August.

Customs data also showed beef imports reached 190,000 tonnes, a 44.5% increase with shipments between January to August 2020 at 1.39 million tonnes.

-      Reuters