David Kennedy, International Markets Manager, Bord Bia – The Irish Food Board
Image by: Bord Bia - Bord Bia promoting Irish beef and pigmeat at Sial Shanghai, May 2019
Record China meat imports in first 6 months of 2019.
2018 was a record year for imported volumes of pigmeat, beef and sheepmeat into China. Over 3.8m tonnes recorded by customs data officials across mainland China ports and Hong Kong. This represented a significant 10% growth versus 2017.
Surprisingly the drivers of this growth were beef and sheepmeat, two of the lesser consumed proteins. According to GIRA, pigmeat accounted for 59% of all animal protein consumed in China in 2018. However, China is also the world’s largest producer of pigmeat generating over 52m tonnes per annum to service domestic demand. Imports typically only account for less than 3% of total consumption. Overall the higher import demand was driven by beef which increased by 426,000 tonnes in 2018 and to a lesser extent sheepmeat, demand for which increased by 69,000 tonnes.
Early indications are that 2019 import figures have the potential to exceed 2018’s record imports with pigmeat the key driver of growth. For context, demand for imported pigmeat in the first 6 months of 2019 represents growth of 13% year on year and exceeds the full year import demand on pigmeat from as recently as 2012. In the same period beef demand is back slightly at 864,000 tonnes while sheepmeat increased by 22% to 220,000 tonnes.
African Swine Fever and its impact on pigmeat production in China, and indeed across Asia, is clearly an influencing factor and driving demand across alternative proteins. Chinese consumption per capita of pigmeat, estimated by GIRA at 38kg per capita per annum, positions it as one of the world’s largest consumers. With reduced domestic production indications are that there will be ongoing demand for imported product to make up the shortfall on the domestic market.
Ireland has had market access to China for pigmeat for a number of years and had access to Hong Kong for beef and sheepmeat also. In 2018, 6 Irish beef plants and one additional pigmeat plant received approval to ship to China. Almost 4,200 tonnes of beef have shipped through mainland Chinese ports since these plants were approved and a veterinary health certificate agreed.
Ireland is not the only country benefitting from additional opportunities with expanded access for Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in recent months. Earlier this month two teams of inspectors from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) visited Ireland on a 10 day plant inspection itinerary as guests of the Department of Agriculture. These Government officials are and have responsibility for accreditation of external suppliers to the Chinese market.
14 beef plants were inspected as part of this itinerary. The prospect of additional plants being approved would significantly enhance this export potential for Ireland. This visit also marked be the first time that Ireland’s sheepmeat production system has been audited for suitability to supply the Chinese market directly. 5 plants were inspected over the course of the 10 day itinerary representing initial steps in delivering market access for Irish sheepmeat to China.
Bord Bia Shanghai has been working in partnership with Irish beef exporters and the Embassy of Ireland in Beijing in delivering on a strategy to position Irish beef appropriately in the Chinese market. Preparatory work is also underway to further understand route to market and identify suitable partners to deliver success for Irish sheepmeat should access be secured.
