Virus Fears and Crowded Ports to Slash China’s Meat Imports
- Consumers wary of overseas frozen food on safety concerns
- Inbound meat cargoes could slump 30% next year: Rabobank
Photographer: Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
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China’s vigorous testing of all inbound frozen food shipments for virus risk, as well as the recovery in domestic hog numbers, could cause meat imports to plunge as much as 30% next year.
Long and cumbersome testing procedures increase the risks for meat importers, prompting them to buy less at a time when domestic pork prices have retreated from record levels, said Lin Guofa, a senior analyst at Bric Agriculture Group, a Beijing-based consulting firm.