After disease decimated its pig herd, Chinese appetite for meat is driving up beef, pork and poultry prices world-wide
By Lucy Craymer and Jacob Bunge Sept. 23, 2019 7:02 am ET China is on a global meat-buying spree, pushing up beef, pork and poultry prices around the globe as the world’s most populous nation scrambles to fill a large void in its meat supply.
China’s world-wide hunt for meat means that in Melton Mowbray, a British town of some 27,000 people known for its pork pies, prices for the thick-crusted pastries are going up. The U.K.’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, a farmer-funded body, in September said Chinese demand helped push domestic hog prices to their highest level since November 2017.
American shoppers so far haven’t felt much price impact from China’s meat purchases, but that could soon change. December-dated U.S. lean hog futures have climbed 4.5% so far this month, rising after Chinese officials said the country could exempt U.S. pork and some other agricultural goods from punitive tariffs, though President Trump on Friday said the U.S. didn’t need to complete a trade agreement with China before the 2020 election.
As domestic pork prices have jumped as much as 50%, there have been some attempts by Chinese government officials to ration pork or encourage people to buy chicken and other meats instead. Chinese importers are looking to buy three times the amount of meat they usually purchase, said Patricio Rohner, BRF’s international vice president. Brazilian consumers are paying more for chicken as a result and further price increases are possible, he said.In neighboring Argentina, where many consider beef a way of life, some locals are going without the red meat as prices surge.
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