Meat import China down, pig price up

In October, China imported 664.000 tons of meat, a decrease of 12,8% compared to the same month last year, according to figures from Chinese customs. This is the lowest monthly volume since 2020. Over the first ten months of this year, China imported 8,05 million tons. This is a decrease of 1,5% compared to the same period in 2020. The decline has fallen, especially since the summer.

The reduced import requirement for pork is due to Chinese pork production, which is considerably higher than in recent years. In the third quarter, production increased by 43% to 12,02 million tons. Looking at the first three quarters, production amounted to 39,17 million tons. This is an increase of 38% compared to the same period last year.

Winter weather drives prices up
Increased production has led to a significant depreciation of pig prices in China in recent months, but since the end of October they have been on the way up. The average Chinese pig price was 15 yuan (€17,71) per kilo on Monday, November 2,42, while pig prices were still below 12 yuan in early October. The increase is due to the winter conditions in China, especially in the northern provinces of the country. 

There is talk of an unusually early start to winter with lots of snow. This makes it difficult to transport pigs to the south of the country where there is a lot of slaughter capacity. Insiders say China does not have a shortage of pork, but it does have a shortage of pigs ready for slaughter. The expectation is that the price recovery will weaken as the roads become more passable. For the time being, however, the increase is continuing longer than expected.