China Pork Imports Expected to Decline in 2023

USDA’s attaché in China expects the country’s pork production to increase 1 MMT to 53 MMT, which would remain below pre-African swine fever levels but be in line with consumer demand. The attaché forecasts pork imports will decline 8% from this year to 1.85 MMT “as domestic production and prices stabilize. Additionally, imports are expected to be constrained as global pork prices are less competitive compared to domestic prices.” The post expects China’s beef production to rise 300,000 MT to 7.4 MMT. Beef imports are forecast to decline to 2.5 MMT amid “high global beef prices, lower domestic prices and a weaker economy impacting consumers purchasing decisions of high-value products such as imported beef.”