The reaffirmation of China’s long-term goal of becoming a self-sufficient pork producer means it will keep scooping up global grain supplies to feed the world’s largest pig herd. The country will maintain its target of producing 95% of the protein on its own by 2025, despite consuming half of the world’s pork. China aims to be self-sufficient in poultry, eggs, beef, mutton, and dairy products, according to the agriculture ministry. They are part of China’s food security goals.
Therefore, soybeans and other feed grains required for fattening hogs, cattle, and poultry will be more readily available overseas. Soybeans and corn are already the most commonly imported items from China. It has purchased an unprecedented quantity of grain in the past two years to feed a hog herd that is recovering from African swine fever.
According to Darin Friedrichs, co-founder and market research director of Sitonia Consulting, a China-based agriculture information service provider, feed grain imports will remain high in the foreseeable future. Following the deadly African swine fever outbreak a few years ago, which spiked meat imports and pork prices, Chinese officials have indicated that they aim to achieve self-reliance by 2020.
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China’s pig farming industry is notorious for its boom-bust cycle, as evidenced by the decline of Dalian futures this year. To ensure stable meat supplies and prices, self-sufficiency targets have been set. As China’s consumption of livestock products continues to grow, there will be supply and demand gaps for feed grains. Likewise, China is ‘heavily reliant’ on soybean imports.
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