June 22, 2021, 08:47

Since April 2021, a decrease in imports of chicken and pork has been observed in China, but the total volume of purchases of these types of meat in foreign markets remains higher than in the same period in 2020.

At the same time, the supply of pork in the domestic market of the PRC already exceeds demand and prices for it are falling. In contrast, demand for broiler meat is declining, while chicken prices are rising.

In May, production of live slaughter pigs in China increased by 1.1% compared to April and by 33.2% year-on-year. The volume of pork production increased by 18.9% over the month and by 44.9% over the year.

Pig products

In May 2021, about 50% of total sales came from pigs weighing over 170 kilograms. The growth rate of meat production outstripped the growth rate of supplies of “live”.

The supply of piglets in the Chinese market in May increased by 8.4% compared to April and by 36.7% year-on-year. The increase in the number of newborn piglets due to the increase in survival rate, which began in April, continued in May. Both large and small pig farms did not replace them due to the sharp decline in prices.

In May, the supply of pork in the wholesale markets of the PRC increased by an average of 8% per week and exceeded demand. The wholesale price of carcasses dropped below 23 yuan ($ 2.8) per kilogram.

In January-April, China imported 1.59 million tons of pork – 18% more than in the first four months of 2020, and the total volume of imports of meat and pig offal increased by 14% to 2.02 million tons. In March-April, a 5.2% decline in imports of pork products was recorded, to 550 thousand tons.

Poultry products

In May 2021, live broiler production in China increased by 1.4% compared to April and by 7.3% year-on-year to 450 million. In five months, about 2 billion chickens were sent for slaughter.

The average broiler price in the Chinese market in May was 9.04 yuan ($ 1.4) per kilogram: it increased by 5.1%, but remained 19.3% lower than in May 2020 due to limited supply and weak demand for poultry meat.

In January-April, the volume of imports of chicken meat in China increased by 20.7% on an annualized basis – up to 488.1 thousand tons. In April, 122.2 thousand tons of broiler meat were purchased in foreign markets, which is 9.3% less than in March.

The first supplier was Brazil (45.1%), the second – the United States (30.5%). They are followed by Thailand (9.2%), Russia (7.4%) and Argentina (4.9%). Chicken feet (45.5%), raw materials for nuggets on bones (23.2%) and chicken wings (23.4%) remained the priority positions.