News Pigs
China continues to phase out pork imports
The Chinese import of pigs has declined further in recent months. After a small stabilization in the autumn, the volume fell to a new low in February.
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China's pork imports peaked in March 2021 when some 580.000 tons of product were imported. Subsequently, a downward trend started which still does not seem to have stopped. The volume of imported by-products has also decreased somewhat recently. These quantities remained reasonably stable until recently.
February new low
In February, China imported 130.000 tons of pork and 80.000 tons of by-products. In March 2021, the volume was still 460.000 tons of pork and 120.000 tons of by-product. The volume of pork is therefore 330.000 tons lower (-72%) and the volume of by-product decreased by 40.000 tons during this period (-33%).
| Month (pork) | metric tons |
| April | 430.000 |
| Mei | 370.000 |
| June | 340.000 |
| July | 350.000 |
| August | 280.000 |
| September | 210.000 |
| October | 200.000 |
| November | 200.000 |
| December | 170.000 |
| January | 150.000 |
| February | 130.000 |
| Month (by-product) | metric tons |
| April | 120.000 |
| Mei | 100.000 |
| June | 110.000 |
| July | 120.000 |
| August | 110.000 |
| September | 100.000 |
| October | 100.000 |
| November | 110.000 |
| December | 100.000 |
| January | 90.000 |
| February | 80.000 |
Other destinations show some growth
The large volumes shipped to China cannot immediately be completely absorbed by other countries, although a diverse number of 'other' destinations have shown some growth in the recent period. For example, import volumes from destinations such as Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Australia were at a higher level. Although the volume delivered to China in December was 370.000 tonnes lower than in the record month of March, the total European export volume was 'only' around 200.000 tonnes lower.