If you get “China fatigue” from my articles, go ahead and skip to the next one. But before you go, know that I get the same “China fatigue” writing articles. This article is my justification.
This first chart shows global meat and poultry exports to the world by region; exports from all countries, to all countries. Global exports grew by 8.4 million metric tons from 2010 to 2020. Global exports to Asia grew by 9.0 million metric tons.
The second chart drills down one level deeper. Here I break down global meat and poultry exports to Asia, by country. Of the 9.0 million metric ton growth in exports to Asia, China accounted for 7.7 million, or 86% of all growth. In comparison Japan and Korea each grew by +0.4 million metric tons.
And it isn’t just pork. While pork exports to China topped US$14 billion last year, beef exports to China were US$9 billion. The total meat and poultry value reached US$26 billion last year, and 8-fold increase in 10 years.
This doesn’t mean that other markets should be ignored or excluded; China accounts for just 29% of global meat and poultry exports. There are many varied and lucrative export markets beyond China.
But the market-mover for global meat and poultry exporters remains China, a complex and difficult buyer. – Brett Stuart