All meat exporters are targeting China

The Chinese imports of pig, poultry and beef meat will only increase in the next three years, that is the expectation of Rabobank, which listed the market trends in China for the various sectors in an outlook report. In total, the Chinese import demand for meat will increase to approximately 6 million tons in 2020.

According to Chenjun Pan, market analyst at Rabobank, the Chinese pig sector is undergoing a transformation process, with consolidation being the key word. Small companies are closing their doors, while larger companies are scaling up further. There is limited room for growth in the south of China, but production is visibly increasing in the north and northeast. According to Pan, all pork exporters worldwide are targeting China. Stagnation in China's economic growth could cause demand to fall, Pan . warns

In terms of beef, it is expected that the demand will exceed the supply in the coming years, which will increase the need for imports. In 2020, it is expected that China will obtain 20 percent of its beef from foreign markets, Rabobank expects.

As a result of the bird flu in Europe, type H5N8, China applies trade restrictions on the supply of breeding material from, among others, the Netherlands and Germany. Since production in China is highly dependent on breeding material from elsewhere, production in China is likely to decrease, which logically increases the import demand for poultry meat. 

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