News Pigs
Pork import Japan fell due to corona crisis
Between January and September, Japan imported about 6% less pork than in the same period the year before. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) expects this decline to be largely caused by the loss of food service in the country due to corona.
In total, Japan imported 862.600 tons of pork in the first 9 months of 2020. This is more than 50.000 tons less than in the same period in 2019. Despite the fact that Japan imported 6% more pork from the United States (US), this did not offset the decrease in other areas. For example, more than 30.000 tons (-35%) less pork was bought in Denmark and imports from China also decreased by just under 10.000 tons (-38%) compared to last year. The Netherlands was also able to sell about 5.000 tons less meat to Japan.
Japanese food sector
According to AHDB, the majority of Japanese imports are frozen pork from the EU. These frozen products are mostly used in the Japanese food service, according to industry reports. In Japan, restaurants and other food service locations have also been closed for some time to get the corona crisis under control. The consequences of this can be seen in the import figures for pork.
Normally, the import of fresh and refrigerated meat products from the US and Canada, among others, accounts for a considerably smaller part of the total import. Here the tide has now turned, imports from the US have increased by almost 20.000 tons (6%) in the period from January to September of this year. AHDB expects this to be driven by more consumer sales in supermarkets, among others.
pork production
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects Japan's pork production to grow slightly. This is stimulated by expanding their own livestock and strong trade prices in the country. Several reports indicate that these price increases are likely due to rising demand for pork in the retail sector. In addition, Rabobank market analysts expect import figures for the rest of 2020 to remain somewhat moderate. Sales in supermarkets may have grown, but they are unable to compensate for the losses in the food service.
Jorine Cosse
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