(Bloomberg) -- Beef imports by China, the world’s top meat consumer, jumped to an all-time high in June as the spread of African swine fever throughout the country boosts demand for alternative sources of animal protein.
- Inbound shipments surged 61% on the year to 133,744 metric tons and were up from 123,720 tons in May, customs data showed on Tuesday. Overseas pork purchases in June rose 63% from a year earlier to 160,467 tons.
Key Insights:
- Beef imports are climbing because the deadly virus is driving up pork prices and prompting people to change diets on concerns over safety, even though there’s no evidence that it hurts humans.
- Australia is the big winner. Chinese demand helped lift beef exports to 1.16 million tons in the year to June 30, according to Meat & Livestock Australia. Shipments to China jumped 55% to 206,306 tons.
- China’s purchases of South American beef are rising too. Brazil’s exports to the country are seen increasing to 70,000 tons a month if China allows supplies from 25 meat plants now under review, said Caio Toledo, a risk management consultant at INTL FCStone. Brazil exported an average 24,000 tons a month to China in the first half.
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- China’s hog herds, the world’s biggest, shrank the most in at least a year last month, with farmers reluctant to replenish numbers while swine fever rages, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
- Hog inventories plunged 26% from a year earlier, while the number of breeding sows slumped 27%.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: James Poole in Singapore at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anna Kitanaka at akitanaka@bloomberg.net, James Poole
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