Global meat production is expected to continue expanding this year, increasing by around 4m tonnes in comparison to 2014, according to an analysis by AHDB Pork of the latest food outlook report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“Meat production is being driven by expansion in the pig and poultry sectors,” said AHDB Pork, drawing on the newly published FAO figures, which also show that while lower input costs have supported increasing meat supplies, finished prices have remained “proportionately low”.
“With expansion of meat production predominantly in regions where demand is also growing, particularly for poultry, a slight slow-down in overall meat trading is to be expected,” noted AHBD Pork. “Trade growth is expected to be only 1.7% this year; this is less than last year but stronger than production growth.
“Pigmeat will have a significant role in this, as key exporting countries like the US recover from PEDv and expand.”
The FAO report also notes that China is set to produce over half of the world’s pigmeat in 2015. Despite such expansion, however, China is still forecast to “increase its import capacity” due to domestic demand in the country remaining strong.