China to boost pork imports 33%

Outbreaks of African Swine Fever have taken a toll on China’s pork industry, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Dept. of Agriculture said in its China Livestock and Products Semi-Annual report. As of March 11, China has reported 115 outbreaks of ASF to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The outbreaks have occurred in every significant pork production region in China. By the end of 2019, according to FAS, China’s swineherd is forecast to shrink 13 percent to 374 million head, and pork production in the country is expected to retreat 5 percent to 51.4 million metric tons (MT). As a result, China will increase imports of pork by 33 percent to 2 million MT, FAS said in its report.“While US pork products still face retaliatory Chinese tariffs of up to 62 percent and process verification requirements, if these are removed, US producers could significantly increase exports to China,” FAS reported.