China: Poultry and Products Semi-annual
China’s 2019 chicken meat production is forecast at 12.65 million metric tons, representing 8 percent year-on-year growth. This increase is due primarily to the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak that began in August 2018, pushing consumers away from pork and towards poultry. While growing demand and high prices are expected to encourage increased domestic production, China’s continued HPAI bans against key suppliers of new poultry genetics (primarily France and the United States) continue to limit that growth, especially for white broilers. Due to unmet domestic demand, 2019 Chinese imports will grow by 32 percent to 450,000 MT, with the growth coming primarily from Brazil, Thailand, Poland and Russia. Finally, exports are expected to remain steady at 455,000 MT as Chinese exporters fight to maintain market share overseas.
