Sector Trend Analysis - Meat Trends in China
February 2018
Executive summary
China was the largest meat producer: 76.4 million tonnes in 2016 and consumer: 65.6 million tonnes in 2016 in the world with the top three categories being pork, chicken and beef. China was the world’s largest market for meat importing US$10.3 billion in 2016, which represents 9% of the global meat import worth US$113 billion.
China was Canada’s second-largest meat importer after the U.S. in 2016 worth US$626 million or 321,764 tonnes, which was 0.5% of the total volume of meat consumed in China. That represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% in volume from 2012 to 2016 and ranks Canada as China’s sixth-largest meat supplier in volume. Also China continues to be Canada’s second-largest export market for agri-food and seafood products.
Demand for meat in China continues to rise both in quantity and quality. With local meat supply constrained by land, feed, and water and supply chain issues, China will continue to import a significant proportion of meat from the world.
Contents
- China’s meat production
- China’s trade summary
- Consumption and spending
- Consumer foodservice
- Top Chinese meat import by port of entry
- Conclusion
- For more information
- Resources
China’s meat production
China is a major player in the world meat industry in terms of production, consumption and trade in recent years.
China meat production by year
China’s meat production reached its second highest peak in history. China produced 76.4 million metric tonnes of meat (pork, chicken and beef) in 2016 among which 56.5 million metric tonnes were pork, 13.1 million metric tonnes were chicken and 6.8 million metric tonnes were beef. Based on data records back to 1988, meat production had a steady increase from 1988 to 2016 to meet the high demand from Chinese customers whose living standard has improved significantly over the past twenty nine years.
Category | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pork | 53,427 | 54,930 | 56,710 | 56,375 | 56,500 |
Chicken | 13,700 | 13,350 | 13,000 | 13,025 | 13,100 |
Beef | 6,623 | 6,730 | 6,890 | 6,750 | 6,785 |
Total | 73,750 | 75,010 | 76,600 | 76,150 | 76,385 |
China’s trade summary
Among the top ten meat suppliers to China by value, Canada was ranked in tenth place, worth US$491 million compared with the biggest meat exporter, Brazil, at US$1.75 billion. Canada represented 5% of the total world meat export value to China. Due to the strong demand from the market in China, nine of the top ten meat exporters gained steady compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 15% and 55% from 2012 to 2016. However, the U.S. had a negative compound annual growth rate of -13% during the same period.
Rank | Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | *CAGR 2012-16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
World | 4,334 | 5,657 | 5,699 | 6,735 | 9,493 | 22% | |
1 | Brazil | 574 | 446 | 521 | 1,094 | 1,757 | 32% |
2 | Germany | 291 | 320 | 339 | 597 | 983 | 36% |
3 | Hong Kong | 435 | 172 | 337 | 126 | 784 | 16% |
4 | Australia | 411 | 1,179 | 1,057 | 988 | 712 | 15% |
5 | New Zealand | 334 | 724 | 883 | 855 | 698 | 20% |
6 | Spain | 169 | 188 | 253 | 365 | 687 | 42% |
7 | United States | 1,002 | 1,061 | 705 | 336 | 585 | -13% |
8 | Uruguay | 99 | 323 | 345 | 542 | 572 | 55% |
9 | Denmark | 305 | 319 | 314 | 396 | 539 | 15% |
10 | Canada | 239 | 278 | 220 | 370 | 491 | 20% |
Source: Global Trade Tracker, 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. |
Rank | Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | *CAGR 2012-16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
World | 2,325,441 | 2,555,236 | 2,525,395 | 2,822,552 | 4,593,022 | 19% | |
1 | Brazil | 247,359 | 191,991 | 228,505 | 409,824 | 738,220 | 31% |
2 | Germany | 175,115 | 199,442 | 214,748 | 380,619 | 595,058 | 36% |
3 | Spain | 99,388 | 106,093 | 138,948 | 210,080 | 388,480 | 41% |
4 | Hong Kong | 344,039 | 130,120 | 241,420 | 74,865 | 385,978 | 3% |
5 | United States | 623,942 | 637,260 | 423,749 | 184,708 | 337,460 | -14% |
6 | Canada | 139,355 | 167,534 | 133,759 | 160,672 | 321,766 | 23% |
7 | Denmark | 189,634 | 186,760 | 192,182 | 232,519 | 301,747 | 12% |
8 | Netherlands | 19,085 | 109,63 | 49,462 | 110,570 | 238,629 | 88% |
9 | New Zealand | 94,824 | 188,708 | 210,959 | 226,087 | 212,676 | 22% |
10 | Australia | 108,216 | 288,420 | 254,803 | 240,196 | 190,180 | 15% |
Source: Global Trade Tracker, 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. |
Among the top ten meat suppliers to China by volume, Canada was ranked sixth, exporting 321,766 tonnes, representing 7% of the total world export to China. Canada gained a compound annual growth rate of 23% while the Netherlands reached the highest compound annual growth rate at 88% among top ten suppliers from 2012 to 2016. Again the U.S. was the only exporter who had a negative compound annual growth rate of -14% from 2012 to 2016.
HS code | Description | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 239 | 278 | 220 | 370 | 491 | |
02032900 | Frozen swine cuts | 88 | 116 | 92 | 93 | 271 |
02064900 | Frozen swine edible offal | 113 | 94 | 67 | 52 | 100 |
02032200 | Frozen hams, shoulders and cuts of swine, bone in` | 13 | 27 | 15 | 18 | 61 |
02023000 | Frozen bovine cuts boneless | 4 | 24 | 35 | 192 | 44 |
02091000 | Pig fat, lean meat free, frozen/chilled/salted/in brine/dried/smoked | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
02031220 | Fresh or chilled pork shoulders and cuts, bone in | 6 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
02101110 | Pork hams and cuts thereof, bone in, cured | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
02062900 | Frozen bovine edible offal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
02032100 | Frozen swine carcasses and half carcasses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
02064100 | Frozen swine livers, edible offal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
Source: Global Trade Tracker, 2017. |
Canada’s total meat exports to China in 2016 were US$491 million of which frozen swine cuts accounted for US$271 million, nearly tripling from 2015 to 2016 while frozen swine edible offals accounted for US$100 million, doubling from 2015 to 2016. The top meat products are mainly pork, beef and their offals.
HS code | Description | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 139,356 | 167,534 | 133,759 | 160,673 | 321,764 | |
02032900 | Frozen swine cuts | 53,264 | 74,826 | 61,401 | 70,429 | 198,186 |
02064900 | Frozen swine edible offal | 66,058 | 58,297 | 48,668 | 37,462 | 68,539 |
02032200 | Frozen hams, shoulders and cuts of swine, bone in | 8,455 | 19,505 | 11,591 | 13,752 | 38,426 |
02023000 | Frozen bovine cuts boneless | 1,334 | 5,425 | 6,421 | 31,981 | 5,895 |
02091000 | Pig fat, lean meat free, frozen/chilled/salted/in brine/dried/smoked | 1469 | 617 | 300 | 598 | 4928 |
02031220 | Fresh or chilled pork shoulders and cuts, bone in | 2,456 | 3,301 | 909 | 3,175 | 1,305 |
02101110 | Pork hams and cuts thereof, bone in, cured | 0 | 130 | 27 | 26 | 828 |
02064100 | Frozen swine livers, edible offal | 204 | 181 | 256 | 205 | 705 |
02032100 | Frozen swine carcasses and half carcasses | 26 | 63 | 56 | 0 | 635 |
02062900 | Frozen bovine edible offal | 0 | 687 | 0 | 0 | 572 |
Source: Global Trade Tracker, 2017. |
Canada exported 321,764 tonnes of meat to China in 2016 of which frozen swine cuts accounted for 198,186 tonnes, almost tripling from 2015 to 2016, while frozen swine edible offal accounted for 68,539 tonnes, a big increase from 2015 to 2016. “Frozen hams, shoulders and cuts of swine, bone in” almost tripled from 2015 to 2016.
Consumption and spending
The total volume of meat consumed in China reached 65.6 million tonnes rising slightly in 2016. Pork was the largest volume of meat consumed in China in 2016: 40.8 million tonnes representing 62% of the total meat consumption, then poultry: 14.1 million tonnes, beef: 5.86 million tonnes, lamb, mutton and goat: 3.55 million tonnes. Pork consumption in 2016 went down compared to the consumption in 2013, 2014 and 2015 while all other meat consumption went up from 2012 to 2016. This is due to the fact that consumers’ increasing awareness led them to make conscious decisions to consume less pork or shift to other types of meat or seafood as a protein source.
Category | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | *CAGR 2012-16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pork | 40,090.3 | 41,293.0 | 42,490.5 | 41,300.8 | 40,846.5 | 0% |
Poultry | 13,143.2 | 13,590.1 | 13,223.1 | 13,765.3 | 14,068.1 | 2% |
Beef and Veal | 4,855.4 | 5,112.7 | 5,368.4 | 5,615.3 | 5,856.8 | 5% |
Lamb, Mutton and Goat | 3,220.3 | 3,310.5 | 3,396.6 | 3,478.1 | 3,554.6 | 2% |
Other Meat | 1,133.0 | 1,155.7 | 1,177.6 | 1,202.4 | 1,226.4 | 2% |
Total Meat | 62,442.2 | 64,462.0 | 65,656.2 | 65,361.8 | 65,552.3 | 1% |
Source: Global Trade Tracker, 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. Note: **Total volume sales: encompasses retail, foodservice, and institutional sales (e.g. school/hospital) defined by Euronomitor. |
From 2012 to 2016, total volume sales of meat grew at a compound annual growth rate of 1%. Beef and veal gained the highest compound annual growth rate of 5%. Lamb, mutton and goat, poultry and other meat all grew at a compound annual growth rate of 2%. Pork had very modest growth, but was the largest category.
Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | *CAGR 2017-21 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pork | 40,805.6 | 41,132.1 | 41,420.0 | 41,668.50 | 41,835.2 | 1% |
Poultry | 14,349.5 | 14,550.4 | 14,739.5 | 14,901.70 | 15,050.7 | 1% |
Beef and Veal | 6,079.3 | 6,273.8 | 6,462.1 | 6,636.50 | 6,809.1 | 3% |
Lamb, Mutton and Goat | 3,629.2 | 3,698.2 | 3,761.1 | 3,821.20 | 3,878.6 | 2% |
Other Meat | 1,248.5 | 1,268.4 | 1,290.0 | 1,309.40 | 1,326.4 | 2% |
Total Meat | 66,112.1 | 66,922.9 | 67,672.7 | 68,337.30 | 68,899.9 | 1% |
Source: Euromonitor International. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. Note: **Total volume sales: encompasses retail, foodservice, and institutional sales (e.g. school/hospital) defined by Euronomitor. |
It is forecast that by 2021, the total sale of meat in China will reach 68.9 million tonnes which is a 3.3 million tonne increase from the volume in 2016. Beef and veal will continue to have the highest compound annual growth rate of 3%, followed by lamb, mutton and goat as well as other meat all at a compound annual growth rate of 2%. Pork and poultry have a compound annual growth rate of 1%. Canada should continue to seize this growth opportunity to export more meat to China.
Category | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | *CAGR 2012-16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pork | 101.6 | 106.9 | 112.7 | 112.9 | 127.5 | 6% |
Beef and Veal | 12.2 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 15.1 | 16.1 | 7% |
Poultry | 12.0 | 12.7 | 13.3 | 14.1 | 14.8 | 5% |
Lamb, Mutton and Goat | 7.1 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 5% |
Other Meat | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 5% |
Total Meat | 134.3 | 141.6 | 149.4 | 151.8 | 168.4 | 6% |
Source: Euromonitor International 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. |
China’s retail sales of meat reached US$168.4 billion in 2016 and grew at a compound annual growth rate of 6% from 2012 to 2016.
Category | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | *CAGR 2012-16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pork | 24,025.9 | 24,628.2 | 25,264.3 | 24,809.5 | 24,784.7 | 1% |
Poultry | 4,337.3 | 4,444.0 | 4,572.1 | 4,709.3 | 4,860.0 | 3% |
Beef and Veal | 1,602.3 | 1,671.9 | 1,750.1 | 1,841.1 | 1,940.5 | 5% |
Lamb, Mutton and Goat | 1,062.7 | 1,082.5 | 1,107.3 | 1,136.1 | 1,167.9 | 2% |
Other Meat | 373.9 | 377.9 | 383.9 | 390.8 | 398.6 | 2% |
Total Meat | 31,402.0 | 32,204.4 | 33,077.7 | 32,886.8 | 33,151.7 | 1% |
Source: Euromonitor International 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. |
Total retail sales of meat in China in 2016 were 33.2 million tonnes. Pork continued to be the most popular type of meat with the retail sales of 24.8 million tonnes followed by poultry with 4.9 million tonnes, beef and veal with 1.9 million tonnes, lamb, mutton and goat with 1.2 million tonnes. The compound annual growth rate for beef and veal from 2012 to 2016 was the highest: 5% followed by poultry: 3%, lamb, mutton and goat as well other meat: 2%. The compound annual growth rate for pork was the lowest: 1% same as the compound annual growth rate for the total meat from 2012 to 2016.
Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | *CAGR 2017-21 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pork | 25,007.8 | 25,457.9 | 25,890.7 | 26,305.0 | 26,673.2 | 2% |
Poultry | 5,030.1 | 5,216.2 | 5,414.4 | 5,631.0 | 5,861.9 | 4% |
Beef and Veal | 2,047.2 | 2,163.9 | 2,289.4 | 2,426.8 | 2,574.8 | 6% |
Lamb, Mutton and Goat | 1,202.9 | 1,240.2 | 1,282.4 | 1,329.8 | 1,383.0 | 4% |
Other Meat | 407 | 416.4 | 426.4 | 437 | 448.8 | 2% |
Total Meat | 33,695.0 | 34,494.6 | 35,303.3 | 36,129.6 | 36,941.8 | 2% |
Source: Euromonitor International 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. |
The retail sales of meat in 2021 will reach 36.9 million tonnes, which is a 3.8 million tonne increase from the retail sales in 2016. Again beef and veal will have the highest compound annual growth rate of 6%, then poultry at 4%, lamb, mutton and goat at 4%, other meat at 2% and pork at 2%.
Category | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | *CAGR 2012-16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Organic Meat | 109.9 | 115.9 | 129 | 138.1 | 149.2 | 8% |
Source: Euromonitor International 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. |
It is worth noting that organic meat in China became increasingly popular with a compound annual growth rate of 8% in retail sales from 2012 to 2016. Chinese consumers demanded more organic products even at higher prices due to the increasing awareness and popularity of these products.
Categories | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|
Meat | 4.86 | 5.27 |
Beef and Veal | 8.62 | 8.59 |
Lamb, Mutton and Goat | 7.60 | 7.50 |
Pork | 4.79 | 5.33 |
Poultry | 3.14 | 3.16 |
Other Meat | 4.05 | 4.06 |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2017. Note: Data available only as of 2015. |
Beef and veal were the most expensive items at US$8.59 per Kg in 2016. Poultry was the cheapest meat at US$3.16 per Kg in 2016.
Category | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Meat | 99.70 | 104.60 | 109.80 | 111.00 | 122.50 |
Beef and Veal | 9.10 | 9.70 | 10.30 | 11.00 | 11.70 |
Lamb, Mutton and Goat | 5.30 | 5.50 | 5.80 | 6.00 | 6.20 |
Pork | 75.40 | 79.00 | 82.80 | 82.60 | 92.80 |
Poultry | 8.90 | 9.40 | 9.80 | 10.30 | 10.80 |
Other Meat | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.10 | 1.10 | 1.10 |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2017. |
Per capita spending on meat by Chinese consumers was US$122.5 in 2016, up from US$111.0 in 2015 and it is projected to reach US$160.0 in 2020.
Consumer foodservice in China
With 1.38 billion Chinese people, representing one fifth of the world’s total population, China is the largest global market for fresh meat. Almost 50% of the meat consumed in China in 2016 was through foodservice and institutions. In China, restaurants are crucial not only to social and cultural life, but also to work and business success, traditionally and contemporarily.
Group buying in consumer foodservice catering is popular. Group buying occurs when a company offers products and services at significantly reduced prices, on the condition that a minimum number of buyers are willing to purchase the same item. This trend was due to the rapid development of e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba through its Alipay, the online payment system which was also launched in Canada on Sept. 25, 2017 to enable Canadian retailers to accept Chinese currency from Chinese shoppers through a mobile wallet. Seven hundreds Canadian merchants already accept Alipay which increases the opportunity of Canadian merchants to expand their market to China.
Format | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | *CAGR 2012-16 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | 50.3 | 50 | 50.4 | 50 | 50 | 0% |
Foodservice | 27.9 | 28 | 28.2 | 28 | 28 | 1% |
Institutional | 21.8 | 22 | 21.4 | 22 | 22 | 1% |
Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0% |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2017. *CAGR: Compound Annual Growth rate. |
The foodservice sector continues to be the dominant buyer of beef and veal products, as Chinese middle class consumers are less used to cooking beef compared to pork, and with busy lifestyles, they tend to choose beef over other proteins when they eat out.
Top Chinese meat import by port of entry
Port of entry | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shanghai | 808 | 1,170 | 1,143 | 1,836 | 2,722 |
Tianjin | 889 | 1,417 | 1,425 | 1,843 | 2,703 |
Guangzhou | 248 | 280 | 413 | 326 | 1,187 |
Shenzhen | 685 | 753 | 714 | 951 | 1,165 |
Dalian | 719 | 1386 | 1218 | 603 | 693 |
Qingdao | 107 | 168 | 246 | 332 | 452 |
Nanjing | 230 | 313 | 272 | 290 | 262 |
Ningbo | 1 | 3 | 15 | 63 | 123 |
Zhengzhou | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.75 | 120 |
Hefei | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 102 |
Source: Global Trade Tracker, 2017. |
Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou were the top three ports of entry for meat from the world representing 64% of China’s total meat imports: US$10.3 billion from the world in 2016.
Port of entry | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tianjin | 121,499,209 | 169,103,465 | 128,480,735 | 133,666,067 | 273,505,999 |
Shanghai | 21,862,885 | 36,556,436 | 30,871,455 | 46,898,553 | 95,651,636 |
Guangzhou | 22,721,235 | 23,334,933 | 21,669,446 | 16,294,210 | 81,985,002 |
Nanjing | 9,828,057 | 18,175,138 | 7,716,376 | 77,751,727 | 51,115,700 |
Shenzhen | 10,010,704 | 6,192,714 | 5,902,395 | 18,774,659 | 35,433,578 |
Dalian | 41,501,433 | 105,463,054 | 47,956,616 | 47,509,599 | 34,923,869 |
Beijing | 0 | 26,619 | 0 | 31,421 | 21,044,366 |
Qingdao | 5,240,014 | 9,685,589 | 5,176,336 | 4,310,360 | 19,545,068 |
Xiamen | 10,181,666 | 3,408,044 | 3,154,169 | 3,994,048 | 3,291,099 |
Huangpu | 1,067,966 | 0 | 0 | 2,554,225 | 3,053,295 |
Source: Global Trade Tracker, 2017. |
Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou again were the top three ports of entry for meat from Canada representing 72% of China’s total meat imports: US$626 million from Canada in 2016.
Conclusion
Demand for meat in China continues to rise both in quantity and quality. With local meat supply constrained by land, feed, and water and supply chain issues, China will continue to import a significant proportion of meat from the world. The 15th China International Meat Industry Exhibition (CIMIE 2017) organized by China Meat Association (CMA) and International Meat Secretariat (IMS) was recently held in Qingdao, October 18-20, 2017. Canada will have a Pavilion at Food and Hospitality China to be held in Shanghai November 14-16, 2017 to showcase meat and other products.
China's meat market had a growth of 2% between 2011 and 2016, and is forecast to increase to a compound annual growth rate of 4% in 2021. With a tradition of cooking and eating a variety of foods, Chinese people are the world’s largest customers for meat. China’s economic conditions have facilitated growth through increased certainty for business and consumer spending confidence. Technological gains particularly in e-commerce and stronger spending power make China a promising market, not only for the meat sector, but also for other sectors of higher value.
For more information
International Trade Commissioners can provide Canadian industry with on-the-ground expertise regarding market potential, current conditions and local business contacts, and are an excellent point of contact for export advice.
For additional intelligence on this and other markets, the complete library of Global Analysis reports can be found under Statistics and Market Information, arranged by sector and region of interest.
For additional information on Food and Hospitality China (FHC) 2017, please contact:
Ben Berry, Deputy Director
Trade Show Strategy and Delivery
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
ben.berry@canada.ca
Resources
- Euromonitor International, 2017. Meat in China.
- Global Trade Tracker, October 2017.
- China Meat Production By Year.
Sector Trend Analysis - Meat Trends in China
Global Analysis Report
Prepared by: Hongli Wang, Market Analyst
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