Chinese pork imports in 2019 are expected to double compared to last year, to 2 million tons, a Rabobank analyst said last Thursday (21), as African swine fever hits production in the world's biggest pork market. world.
China has recorded 113 outbreaks of the contagious disease since last August, although farmers and industry experts say several outbreaks have gone uncounted. African swine fever, which does not harm humans, has a high mortality rate in pigs and has no vaccine or cure.
Chinese pork production will fall by up to 20% in 2019, Oscar Tjakra, director of food and agribusiness research at Rabobank, said at a conference in the east of the country. China typically accounts for about half of the world's production of the protein.
This means this year's local production is between 50 million and 51 million tonnes, Tjakra told Reuters during the event, down from 54 million to 55 million tonnes last year.
