Tuesday, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their quarterly Livestock and Poultry Report on World Markets and Trade. This report includes data on U.S. and global trade, production, consumption and stocks, as well as analysis of developments affecting world trade in livestock and poultry. It covers beef and veal, cattle, pork, swine and chicken meat.
This new USDA report shows that China continues to drive the red meat trade. China pork production is expected to contract in 2022 as the hog sector adjusts to rapidly changing market conditions. Hog prices in that country have fallen dramatically since the beginning of 2021 and have remained low. All of this will likely cause pork production to decline in China and imports to rise in 2022, particularly in the second half of the year.
As for beef imports, China and its share of global trade are expected to grow for the eighth consecutive year in 2022. Beef gained ground due to China struggling with tight pork supplies over the past several years. Evolving consumer preferences and an improving foodservice environment will give beef a larger place in the Chinese diet than in the past while muted growth in domestic production will support imports.
Chicken meat imports in China are also growing. A forecast of 3 percent growth is expected next year due to increased consumer demand and the expectation that imported product will be competitively priced. But, China’s share of global trade for chicken meat remains small compared to that of other meats.