China imported record pork in April

Earlier this month it was announced that China would report the first quarter of 2020 considerably more pork imported. Now that the figures for April are also known, it appears that a new record has been reached for the month in question with an import of 400.000 tons. Imports are almost 170% higher than in the same month last year.

In the first 4 months of 2020, China imported 1,35 million tons of pork. Outbreaks of African swine fever have led to a sharp decline in the country's domestic pig herd, resulting in more meat being imported. The import volume of beef is also higher than last year. Imports increased by 4% to 54 in the first 680.000 months of the year, Customs data showed.

Given the corona crisis and the additional export barriers due to blockages, which were often the case in the first quarter, it is surprising that the import volume has reached a record.

Europe and USA
Much of the imported pork comes from Europe, the US and Brazil. With a market share of 61%, Europe was by far the largest supplier in the first quarter of 2020. Figures from the European Commission show that Europe exported approximately 2020 tons of meat to China in the first quarter of 756.021. 

The US share accounted for 18% of total Chinese imports. According to data from the US Agriculture Department, US exports recorded a significant increase in the first 3 months of the year compared to last year. Export volume rose 231% to 296.525 tonnes in the first quarter and export value increased 321% to $724,5 million.