December 24, 2019

China pork imports up 150% in November 2019 compared to last year

Data from the General Administration of Customs showed November pork imports reached 229,707 tonnes, up 30% from 177,426 tonnes in October 2019, reported Reuters.

This is China's highest recorded pork import levels since 2016, as the country has approved new meat sources overseas to supplement dwindling stocks domestically caused by the African swine fever outbreak.

Pork imports between January to November 2019 reached 1.733 million tonnes, a 58% increase compared to same period in 2018. The data only includes muscle cuts, and excludes 'variety meats' and offal.

Other meat imports have also increased, with chicken imports in November at 77,895 tonnes, a 70.9% increase compared to last year.

Beef imports have also gone up to 186,984 tonnes in November 2018, a 79.3% surge compared to 2018. Between January to November 2019, beef imports totalled 1.47 million tonnes, a 57.3% increase from 2018.

-      Reuters