CHINA's pork imports are declining as a trade dispute with America and domestic prices fall slow imports, according to WH Group Ltd, reports Bloomberg
CHINA's pork imports are declining as a trade dispute with America and domestic prices fall slow imports, according to WH Group Ltd, reports Bloomberg. WH Group shipped more pork from the US to Japan and Korea in the first half and will continue to change its trade flows should tensions remain, said CEO Wan Long.
Lower hog prices in China boosted consumption of domestic meat, while tariffs on American pork further eroded the competitiveness of imports, the company said in a statement.
China is the world's biggest pork producer, consumer and importer and boosted duties on US pork to 37 per cent in April and then to 62 per cent in July.
That's left American producers seeking ways to make up for trade-war losses and led to a 21 per cent slump in American pork exports to China in the first half, said Bloomberg.
Even without the tariffs, surging domestic production lowered the competitiveness of American pork, according to WH Group.
Said Smithfield Foods CEO Kenneth Sullivan: 'True, our volumes to China dropped 20 to 30 per cent, but our volumes to Korea they went up 50 per cent.
'It's really a question of finding the market for this need. Because if you produce it, you don't throw it away, you ultimately sell that meat. It's a sell-it-or-smell-it business. Meat will get distributed,' said Mr Sullivan.
Average pig prices fell 25 per cent in the first half, before rebounding 23 per cent and were at CNY14.07 (US$2.04) per kilogramme this week, according to Shanghai JC Intelligence data.
Hog prices may average between CNY13.3 and CNY13.5 this year, said Ma Xiangjie, president of WH Group's Shuanghui Development unit.
