Pork imports into China have increased by 22% so far this year with the EU remaining as the country’s dominant supplier, according to AHDB Pork.
“As the Chinese breeding herd continues to fall, a surge of pork imports was recorded between July and September,” said AHDB Pork, adding that the third quarter intake was a “record high” of 198,000 tonnes, lifting the total for the first nine months of the year to 518,000 tonnes.
On product value, Chinese pork imports for the nine months were worth the equivalent of £612 million, up 23% on the year in terms of the Chinese currency.
“An uplift in shipments was recorded for all of the major exporters to China during July to September, with the EU remaining as the dominant supplier,” said AHDB Pork, noting that volumes from the EU were ahead by 63% compared to the same time period in 2014.
“This was largely driven by Germany and Spain, with shipments ahead of the third quarter of 2014 by 72% and 48% respectively. Imports from the UK were also well up, rising by over 40% to 9,000 tonnes.”